A/N: Sorry, this is the last chapter. As it's stated in the summary, I'm no longer into Fruits Basket, so this story will be left incomplete.

The young woman stared at him with fearful eyes. She knew she would reject him if it truly was the case, but the fact that he'd even ask her a question that carries so much impact made the blood drain from her face. Praying it was just some sick joke, she watched helplessly as he took her hands in his. Please, don't ask it . . .

"Akito . . . will you . . . move away from the tree trunk?"

She blinked in confusion. "What?"

"There's a very unusual spider that's about to crawl onto your head," he stated frankly as he pointed above her.

She leaned forward and looked back at the trunk, seeing an oddly huge, orange spider. Akito wasn't frightened by spiders, but this one irked her. Then she narrowed her eyes when it hit her that Shigure was indeed joking around. As relieved as she felt, she was still furious with him for playing with her emotions. Why should it surprise her, though? That's all he ever did. But Akito was extremely grateful that he didn't "pop the question." She then figured the whole thing was a ruse, including the apology. Instead of fighting with him about it, she stood up, dusted herself off, and walked back towards the house. She sat on the stoop lazily, draping her arms over her knees.

Shigure laughed, getting up himself. "You look like a yanki." -1-

Eyes dull, she turned her head and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The way you're sitting," he responded, pointing at her and smiling. "Sorry about before. I couldn't help myself." He then noticed the front door had been shut. So the kids are leaving us alone, the dog thought, quite amused. Well, I'm sure they can't stand the sight of her after what she did. Shigure sat beside her and loosened his tie. "Why did you do that to Kyou?" he asked in a serious, nearly inaudible voice. She probably wouldn't open up to him, but he wanted to try anyway. Besides, she couldn't have been all that angry with him, or else she would have moved.

"I owed him an explanation, not you," she answered in an equally soft tone.

He looked at his beloved in mild puzzlement. "And you actually gave him one?"

She nodded.

Tilting his head up and putting his hands on the ground behind him, he chuckled to himself, realizing just how much Akito had changed. In the past, she would have seen it as a waste of her breath. After Shigure ceased laughing, he sighed. "I'll let him be, you know."

The young woman perked up slightly.

"Eiji-san most likely hates me now. There wouldn't be much of a point to try that tactic again." His eyes softened,. "You two have a strong bond, may it be friendship or romantic. I envy him . . . "

Akito looked at him with slightly expanded eyes, not believing the words that just escaped his mouth. "Shigure, I hate not knowing when you're lying to me or not. Why do you always have to play games with my mind? If you truly love me, you wouldn't do that. Haven't you ever wondered why I don't love you?"

He veered his eyes towards her. "I've already explained myself. And I really do love you. Didn't you ever think that my love may be twisted, just as yours is?"

"But I don't love you," she reiterated.

"I'm not talking about love for me. It's for anyone. I just don't believe you've matured enough to fully comprehend that emotion." He sighed when he saw an angry glimmer in her eyes. "I don't mean that as an insult. Akito . . . I've loved you before you were even born. I don't actually want to put you through so much pain. To me, it's necessary. If I felt there was any other way, then I would jump at it." Shigure paused, debating whether to mention it or not, but then he figured she probably needed a reminder. "I want you to became independent and to not act like a spoiled brat who's living in the image her father projected for her. When you've accomplished those things, I'll stop playing games. . . . Well, to a certain extent. I won't be cruel about it. I mean, playing games is just a part of my personality," he stated, a huge smile on his face. "I can't help but tease."

"Teasing is different from playing games," she mumbled.

Slowly, he rested his hand on Akito's arm. "I know that you still have feelings for me, even if they're buried under all that hatred. Just stop kidding yourself."

She refused to lay her eyes on him after he said that. Even though a tiny voice in the darkest corner of her mind was fully agreeing with the mutt, she didn't want to get involved with him. He made things too complicated, worse than it already was. Akito seriously needed to straighten herself out bef—wait, scratch that. She had to be faithful to Eiji, and she was starting to think as if she would eventually get together with Shigure after her life calmed down. She was done with him, especially now that she was engaged. Doing anything with him by this point would make her a slut, and she most definitely didn't want to be that. Though, she did realize that she was drawing a fine line between what was considered slutty behavior and what wasn't. As long as Eiji didn't see her as a whore, then she couldn't care less. After all, who would want to be married to a guy who thought of you that way?

"Are you actually not objecting to that?" he asked, somewhat stunned.

Akito cursed herself for zoning out at such a time and replied, "Whether it's true or not, I promised Eiji-san I wouldn't cheat on him. And before you say anything, just give up on trying to break it off. You know that there isn't a way to intervene. I've accepted my fate, so you should accept yours."

He frowned, annoyed with her answer. He wasn't expecting that. "And what is my fate?"

"Life without me," she said, venom attached to her words.

"Oh, you're so cold, Akito-san!" Shigure moaned.

She rolled her eyes. Idiot . . .

Then a black car rolled up, and Akito became relieved. She had had enough of him and was actually looking forward to returning to her lonely room. Standing, the young woman said, "Tell Kyou . . . that he was right about Honda-san." She halted on her way to the car and looked up at the sky, wondering why she was feeling . . . almost guilty. Perhaps it was because she had related what she did to him to something horrible happening to herself. It was a fleeting thought, but now it was stuck in her mind, nagging her like an overprotective parent. She really didn't want to say it, but it wasn't like she was actually speaking to Kyou. "Also, tell him that I . . . I apo-lo-gize." Akito enunciated each syllable, the word sounding foreign in her mouth.

His eyes widened. Did she really just say that?

"Shigure! Will you tell him?" she yelled, still refusing to glance back.

"Ah . . . Yes, I will."

Satisfied, Akito continued walking and stepped into the car's backseat. After the driver shut the door, she closed her eyes and slumped against the leather, the day having worn her out. All she wanted to do was sleep.

Back in the house, Shigure slowly took his shoes off, trying to come up with a valid reason for her strange request. He could only imagine what his orange-headed cousin would say when he tells him that the intolerable, sadistic Souma clan head felt guilty for causing him pain. It sounded completely ridiculous.

"Is she finally gone?" Kyou asked, coming down the stairs.

He cocked his head to one side. "It took you that long to get a shirt? I guess you enjoy parading your muscular chest in front of Tohru-kun," he said with a smile forming on his face. It was too easy.

Kyou simply narrowed his eyes, trying not to let the dog get to him. "I went up right after you left," he replied in a deep voice.

"So, then . . . what were you doing up there all that time?"

His whole body twitched. "I was thinking," he replied impatiently.

"You couldn't do that downstairs?"

"SHUT UP!" Kyou exploded. After his quick outburst, he stomped down the remaining stairs and headed off towards the kitchen.

"Ah, wait! Kyou-kun! I have a message for you!" he called, struggling to get his shoe off.

"What?" Kyou barked at him, jerking around to face the mutt.

"Akito-san wanted me to tell you that you were right about Tohru-kun. She also said she . . . " He didn't go on, wanting to see how Kyou would react.

The boy simply stared at Shigure, trying to figure out if he was making it up or not. What else did she say? His curiosity was definitely peeked. "And?" he egged him on.

"She said she apologizes," Shigure said with a shrug, barely believing it himself.

Kyou laughed. "Yeah, right!"

"No, no. I'm serious. I don't get it either, but that's what she said."

He stopped, and his eyes bulged. "You really . . . aren't joking?"

"Really."

No way . . . She couldn't have meant it. This has got to be some weird joke.

"What's going on?" Yuki asked as he walked over to Kyou. "I thought you had died up there," he stated flatly.

"She . . . That mental case actually . . . apologized," the teen whispered, still in shock.

Yuki's brow furrowed. Crossing his arms, he said, "You have to be kidding. She said that to you?"

"Well, no. Shigure relayed the message to me."

He looked to the dog. "Do you think she meant it?" Yuki was in as much disbelief as Kyou was.

Scratching the back of his head, he replied, "I'm pretty sure she did. I didn't see her face when she said it, but she sounded convincing."

"Hmm." The rat put a hand on his chin in thought. "And you, of all people, should be able to tell when someone's acting," he jabbed.

The dog pretended he just got punched in the stomach. "Ouch, Yuki-kun! That hurt!"

Both boys rolled their eyes.

"I can't believe she would feel guilty . . . and for doing something to me, a 'monster.' It doesn't make any sense," Kyou mumbled. "Now I have to talk to her."

"Will you forgive her, though?"

He shrugged, a minor scowl on his face. "I'll have to see what she says." What's her reason for feeling guilty

Yawning, Akito slid the door open to her room. Then she froze, noticing a certain someone was sitting rather contently at her table. "What are you doing in here without my permission?" she asked, slightly irritated.

"That old woman ushered me in, telling me to wait for you," Eiji said with a nervous smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to invade."

She sighed and closed the door. "It's fine. I can't see you snooping around anyway." Then she smiled bizarrely, raising an eyebrow. "You call her 'that old woman,' huh? What happened to your manners?"

Her fiancé frowned, saying he couldn't remember her name. Then he asked her where she had been.

"Visiting family," she responded directly. "Though, I made a huge mess of it." Akito sat on the opposite side of the table and plunked her head down onto it.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Her voice was muffled. "Just tired."

Eiji grinned. "I've never seen you in Western clothing before. You look nice."

She glanced at him. "Suck up."

He laughed and said he was expecting her to say something along those lines. "But you really do look nice. Black suits you."

She propped her elbows on the table's surface and rested her chin in her hands. The young woman was liking this conversation. "You're probably the only one to say that to me. Most think it's too gloomy. I've observed that you wear black a lot. It's either that or some other dark color."

He shrugged. "I don't like to stand out."

"Well, you know, you're going to stand out quite a bit from now on because you're my fiancé. There's no helping it."

"I know, but I'm so used to wearing dark clothing that I'll most likely continue to wear them."

She understood that. It was starting to scare her how much they had in common. Granted, there were plenty of differences between them, but she just never really shared similarities with someone before. She was slowly beginning to realize why he was picked. The two of them had just enough in common to get along reasonably, and perhaps Eiji's morals and good behavior would rub off on the clan head. It was virtually perfect.

"Hey, are you alive?"

She jumped. Damn it! I've got to stop zoning out like that! "Yeah, I'm alive," she grumbled. Then a light flickered on in her head. It was an easy way to be entertained, and she was curious, after all. "Hey, I have a question for you. I'm trying to see what our differences and similarities are."

He cringed inwardly when a smirk emerged on her lips. Here we go again . . . "What is it?" he asked jadedly.

"Are you a masochist?"

Eiji couldn't believe her frankness. What would even make her think he was one? "No! Of course not! Please don't tell me you're into S&M," he moaned.

She laughed. "I had a feeling you weren't, but I just wanted to be sure."

The young man felt like crying. "You didn't say anything! God, how could this get any worse?" He let his head fall onto the table, and after a few seconds passed, he muttered a small "ow."

Akito shook her head, thinking to herself how pathetic he was, yet at the same time amusing. "No, I'm not into sado-masochism. I've heard of it, but I have no interest in it presently. Maybe that's only because I've never tried any of that stuff, so I don't know what I'm missing." She smirked again. "Perhaps, somewhere along the way, we could do a little experimenting."

Eiji shuddered at the thought. Desperate to change the subject, he said, "You mentioned before that you visited family."

"Yeah, and?"

"Uh . . . " Crap, I was expecting her to start rambling. He lifted his head. "Um, well . . . you said you made a mess of things, so . . . what happened?"

She looked away from him. "I did something I shouldn't have," she answered quietly.

Surprised, he moved so that he was closer to her, hoping that maybe she had a conscience after all. "What did you do?"

"You know the story behind the cat, right?"

He nodded.

"Well, since that spirit is vengeful, it takes on a hideous form, as you know. To keep that monster from surfacing, the one possessed by that spirit wears juzu beads around their left wrist. I removed that bracelet to prove something. It was a selfish act, nothing new for me . . . but . . . for some reason, I put myself in his place. I tried to comprehend the agony and embarrassment he must have felt. He . . . must've felt so exposed. When I realized that, I imagined myself being exposed, literally. I . . . would have been angry if someone did that to me, but I'd also be so embarrassed to a point where it would hurt. By the time I actually realized what I was thinking, I couldn't undo how I felt. There's no way I could apologize to someone's face, though. That's why I told Shigure to tell him for me. I'm sure no one will take it seriously, and I don't blame them. I just . . . don't understand why I feel guilty. I've never regretted causing someone pain before. Also, why him? I've always seen Kyou as a monster. I don't understand myself."

Eiji was absurdly happy that she was, in fact, human, but he immediately berated himself for thinking like that. She sounded so miserable and lost, and here he was rejoicing. He wanted to embrace her, but he wasn't sure if she'd react negatively to that, so he restrained himself and simply put a hand on her shoulder. She barely even acknowledged that, so he knew he was safe. "That was your first time feeling empathy towards someone. Of course you'd be a little disturbed by it. Don't worry, though. You're not going to turn into an angel." He smiled gently at her when she looked at him. "Don't be afraid of yourself."

She snapped her head away from Eiji in a huff. "Who said anything about being afraid?"

"Deny it all you want. I know that's the case." His grip tightened as he tried to console her. "It's completely normal to be this way."

"It's . . . 'normal,' huh?" she murmured. "So I'm 'normal' now. Why does that make me uneasy? Maybe I'd rather be considered strange. Maybe . . . I like being different from everyone else."

After hearing that, Eiji decided to take a risk. Slowly, he shifted himself and wrapped his arms around her. She was so much easier to deal with when she was acting human. "I'm here for you, Akito-san, and if you ever need any advice, just ask. Even if you need to vent, you can come to me. Just don't, um, vent out on me." Since he wasn't getting any response, he tried to pull away to see her facial expression, but she suddenly grabbed onto him. He nearly yelped as she clutched onto the backs of his shoulders. She said something into his shirt, but he couldn't understand her. "W-what is it, Akito-san?"

She repeated herself, only making her voice slightly louder. "Why are you like this?

"Like what?"

"You know when to comfort me, and you take a chance by using physical contact. Why are you so kind towards me?"

With sorrow in his eyes, he said faintly, "Because I feel you need a little kindness. Plus, I'm trying to make this work. If I don't try my hardest now, we'll have a horrible time when we actually get married."

Akito rested her cheek on his shoulder, relaxing her hold on him. It confused her why she didn't mind being around her fiancé. There was no way she was starting to like him, was there? It didn't really matter, though, because she knew she would never love him. The only thing between them was a sort of business relationship. They were together because it was organized to be so. No matter how much work the two of them put into that relationship, there would always be a great distance between them. At least, that was how Akito felt.

"Are you going to be alright?" Eiji asked softly.

Sighing, she released him and attempted to stand, but he grabbed her wrist. "Yeah, I'll be fine," she replied in an equally quiet tone. "Let me go. I want to get changed."

"Ah! Sorry." He let go of the young woman and watched her walk towards her bedroom. "Hey, um . . . you know, with some people, once they start to change, they can't stop. Maybe you're one of those people. I'm sure you have your limits, though. You'll only change until a certain point, so you'll always be you." He smiled at her.

She thought about it for a minute and realized he was right. Further change was inevitable. But rather than simply telling him that he hit the nail on the head, she decided to make him upset. "Then that means I'll always have fun making you feel uncomfortable, and I'll forever be a sadist at heart."

Eiji frowned. "Yeah, I already knew that . . . but I guess I'll just have to learn to cope with it. As long as you don't kill me, I'll be fine."

Stifling a laugh, she nodded. I almost feel bad for him, having to put up with me. At least he's trying to be optimistic.

Kyou tried his best to fall asleep, but his efforts were fruitless. All he could do was replay the day's events in his mind continually. The one thing that really bothered him, though, was the fact that Akito had apologized. He knew Shigure wouldn't make up something like that, but he could definitely imagine the clan head lying. After everything, though, after Yuki seemed so convinced that she had changed, he wasn't so sure that Akito didn't mean it.

When he looked over at the clock next to his futon, he groaned. That's it! I'm gonna call her up and—wait, that won't help me. I have to actually see her face. Then I'll just go to the Honke tomorr—wait, no! I can't do that, either! For me, the cat, to be granted permission to enter, I have to be invited. Then . . . Ah! I'll give Hatori a call, explain everything, and have him make an urgent request to see me. If I can get him to cooperate, then I'm guaranteed an entrance pass! Doctor's orders, right? He calmed down and slowly closed his eyes. Yeah, that's what I'll do . . .

1- Some people spell it "yankee," which is wrong, but it means the same thing.

Mina-san gokigenyou!