“I’ll always be a lover in captivity….”
-Lovers in Captivity by Ima Robot

After all, he wasn’t part of the zodiac anymore. He really didn’t have to stay with the family, stay inside forever, and never truly have a life of his own. He could, at any moment in time, should he so choose, just leave, and there’d be nothing anyone could do about it.

Except for that promise he made Akito when he was younger. The promise he had made to stay by her side, to never reveal to anyone that he’d been released. That promise held him down, though at the time, he’d been more than happy to make it. He was young, he didn’t know of any other way of life than to belong to the zodiac, to follow Akito’s orders. And so, if she wanted him to stay, he could stay.

And, sometimes he didn’t want to stay. He wanted to leave the Sohma’s, to go out and work for a living, to find his love- to find that Arisa Uotani- to do something.

But, he couldn’t. He didn’t break promises; never had, and never would. Part of him still wanted to stay with Akito. He knew how to care for her; he’d done it practically his whole life. And, he liked knowing that; it gave him a purpose.

But that didn’t mean he didn’t want to find Arisa one day. He was sure he could love her, if he was ever given the opportunity.

“Kureno?”

Akito was calling him. It was past midnight; Kureno had slipped out of the bedroom they quite often shared so he could have a moment to himself. He hadn’t gone far; Akito somehow always knew when he wasn’t at her side, whether or not she was asleep.

He returned to her bedroom. She was sitting on the futon they’d both been laying in only moments ago, and she wasn’t making any effort to cover herself, despite the fact that she was nude. It always amazed Kureno how, even though she had to hide her female body all the time, how comfortable she was being naked in his presence (and he assumed Shigure or Hatori’s as well).

“Where did you go?” Akito demanded. She was visibly upset at the fact that she awoke to his absence.

“Just to get a breath of fresh air,” he replied, sitting beside her.

“Don’t do it again,” she said, shifting closer to him. “I don’t like you gone.”

It was apparent she was looking to make love once more, the way she was leaning towards him, the look in her eyes. And, Kureno knew he must oblige.

“I know,” Kureno whispered, giving her a soft kiss. “You have my apologies.”

The kiss deepened, and he allowed her to take control as she always did. This was his life, how it always was, how it always would be.

He would always be her lover in captivity.

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