To Love's End | Shigure Sohma

Chapter Thirty One

They all looked up at Amai in shock. It was crazy that she was ready to face Akito right at that moment. Shigure took hold of her hand and she looked at him as he spoke.

"Amai, slow down. You really want to go there right now?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered simply.
"Well, don't you want to wait? Or at least talk about it. You've only just returned."
She breathed out softly and lowered herself to her knees, still holding onto his hand. "Shigure, I can't wait any longer. We can wait and talk and plan everything but we've tried that and it got us nowhere. Akito has no idea that my memories have returned and she certainly wouldn't have expected for my memories to return this quickly. This is our chance. She won't be able to say no. We made a deal."
Shigure looked at her sadly. He took a deep breath and spoke with a heaviness in his voice. "I don't want her to hurt you again."
She smiled sadly and placed a hand on his cheek. "She can't hurt us anymore."
"Amai," Hatori spoke, making them look at him. "When challenged this way, there is a chance that Akito can react negatively and rashly. There is a high possibility for her to become aggressive and violent. I implore you to think this through."
"That is why I propose we all go together. Strength in numbers," she told them. "We go, what, one-by-one? Hoping that she'll lift the curse. Even just wanting to fall in love is a crime to her because she's afraid she's going to be left alone. That's all she wants. She wants to control everyone so that they don't leave. If we all go to her together and make her understand that no one is going to leave her, then we have the best chance of winning."

She looked at them as the room fell silent. Everyone was thinking to themselves, trying to see the positive in what she was saying. It was hard to comprehend. They had been conditioned to believe that no matter what, they were trapped. For them, there was no escape.

Shigure gently squeezed her hands and nodded. "I'm with you."
Amai smiled. "Thank you."
Shigure looked at the others. "What do you guys think?"

No one spoke for a few moments. It was still complete silence.

"I think Amai is right."

Everyone's eyes turned onto Tohru. She smiled nervously but Amai only smiled even more, thanking her for her support.

"Well, there you go then," Ayame said with a wide smile. "If Tohru is confident, then we have no reason to hold back."
Kyo nodded and grinned with determination, slamming his hand down on the table. "I'm ready! I'm sick of this damn curse."
Hatori was the first to stand. "Very well then."

Everyone else followed suit and stood, all except Yuki. He looked up at all of them, ending on Amai.

"We're really doing this, aren't we?" he asked quietly.

Amai smiled softly as she sensed a hint of fear in his voice. She walked over to him and crouched down.

"Yes, Yuki. We have all suffered enough. And although Tohru and I haven't been part of this family for long, we're still family. And we're willing to fight." She held her hand out to him. "We can't do this without you."

They all knew how hard it would be for Yuki. He was strong but in situations like that, he was scared after what had happened in his childhood. He lived in fear of ever getting close to anyone ever again. He had no friends. Deep down, that was the reason why he considered Kyo to be his only friend for most of his life. Not that he would ever admit it.

Ayame himself hoped that this would help him become closer to his brother. He hoped that Yuki wouldn't detest him any longer and their bond would grow.

After a few moments of thought, Yuki realised that this was the strongest any of them had ever been. He took hold of Amai's hand and stood with her.