To Love's End | Shigure Sohma

Chapter Thirty Two

Upon reaching Akito's room, everyone felt a surge of nervousness but along with that, they felt strength. They were all apprehensive, hoping it would be the end.

Shigure knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came Akito's tired voice.
"It's me," Shigure answered.
"Enter."

Amai gently squeezed his hand as he slid open the door. Akito was laying on the ground with her back towards the door so she didn't see who was there. Shigure and Amai entered first, followed by the rest of the Sohmas.

Amai took a deep breath. "Hello, Akito."

Akito's heart felt as though it jumped to her throat as her eyes snapped open wide. It couldn't be... It just couldn't. She quickly sat up and turned towards the door to see if her ears were deceiving her.

There, she came face-to-face with not only Amai but all the other members of the Zodiac as well. And what made it worse than it already was... Shigure's hand was holding onto Amai's.

A heavy silence fell in the room. Akito's eyes darted from Amai to Shigure, down to their hands and then back up to Hatori, then Ayame, and then Yuki and Kyo, towards Tohru and then back at Amai. All of them, all the members of the Zodiac, standing and staring at her with Amai leading them. Her body was shaking, her teeth grinding together as the anger continued to boil. She moved onto her knees, her hands clenched into fists as she leaned on the floor.

"No..." she whispered dangerously. "NO!!" She glared at Amai with pure rage. "YOU'RE NOT HERE! YOU'RE NOT REAL!"

Some of the others were used to her temper but the younger ones, and even Tohru, felt a little frightened. Tohru held onto Kyo's arm and he instinctively took a small step in front of her.

"Please calm down," Amai spoke without a hint of fear in her voice. "Yelling won't change anything."
That didn't stop Akito from raising her voice. "It's not possible!" She slowly stood before her eyes turned onto Hatori. "You! You lied! You didn't erase her memories!"
"I did it right in front of you," he replied calmly.
Amai stepped forward. "We made a deal, Akito. As you can see, I'm still here. Now it's your turn to hold up your end of the deal."
"No..." Akito shook her head. "YOU'RE A FAKE! YOU'RE NOT REAL!"

Amai just breathed out heavily and decided to allow Akito to burn out her rage. Akito wanted nothing more than to hurt Amai but with everyone standing there, she couldn't do anything. It was as if they had all turned on her. They were all on Amai's side and she was all alone.

Akito panted heavily as she continued to glare at Amai. She wasn't going to admit defeat so easily. Her eyes then turned to Shigure.

"You betrayed me, Shigure," she finally spoke with more calmness in her voice but it still shook in anger. "For her?! I thought you loved me!"
He looked at her sadly as he stepped forward beside Amai. "I'm sorry, Akito. I led you to believe that I loved you. I did it for revenge and one day I planned to walk out of your life so that you could feel the same pain I felt the day you had Amai's memories erased. Amai was the one who showed me that revenge wasn't the right path." He gently held Amai's hand but kept his eyes on Akito. "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

Amai looked up at him and smiled ever so slightly before returning her attention to Akito. However, Akito was still fuming. She didn't want to believe that Amai had returned for a second time. She wouldn't believe it.

"You think that she is the one?" Akito hissed as she pointed at Amai. "You think she understands us?"
"Don't you understand, Akito?" Amai asked. "My memories were taken from me twice. Yet my love for Shigure brought me back both times. The bond of love is stronger than the bond of this curse. Can you see it? Love is what will keep everyone by your side, not the curse. Your mother was wrong."