𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬│ sʜɪɢᴜʀᴇ sᴏʜᴍᴀ

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚘: 𝙷𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚒

✿

«𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙵𝙾𝚇»

"Wake up...please..." A deep voice echoed through my ears. This voice was familiar, yet one I hadn't heard in many years.

"S-Shigure? Is that you?" I mumbled while rubbing my tired eyes.

"Please, rise and meet my gaze," the voice instructed. I obeyed and scooted myself backward, pulling my legs out from underneath the warm sheets and exposing my skin to the cold room, sending shivers down my spine. I blinked a couple of times, allowing my eyes to adjust to the dimly lit room. When my gaze focused, I looked up into the eyes of the familiar man.

"Hatori?" I questioned while tilting my head to the side. His eye, one was shielded behind a patch of his short, brown hair, widened. He must have been surprised that even after almost two years of not seeing him that I could still remember his name and face.

"Yes, it's me. I'm so glad you remember..." He gently pulled me into a warm embrace, his cold hands rubbing my back.

"Where am I?" I asked sleepily and slightly confused by my new surroundings.

"You are at my home, in the Sohma Family Prefecture," he calmly explained.

"Prefecture..." I mumbled under my breath. I had heard Shigure say that word on many occasions. He had said something along the lines of: "Never will I return to that wretched place. Here, I am free...as I was intended to be." I was never certain as to what he was referring to and I dared not question him. He seemed so passionate every time he spoke of it.

"Where is Shigure?!" I asked, a hint of panic in my voice. I had never truly been "separated" from him. The only time I was ever without him was when he would go to work or enter town to shop for groceries—even then he would bring me along with him.

"He is back at his home with Yuki and Ayame."

"Why am I here?" I asked, tears pricking my eyes not from fear or sadness, but from pure confusion.

"I'll field that question, Hatori," another voice, this one completely new to me, answered instead. Out of the shadows of the darkened room, a man emerged. He had an emotionless face, whipped completely clean...not a trace of feeling.

"You see, child, you are a danger to Shigure," he said with an icy tone. I shook my head, forcing a laugh to erupt from his thin throat. "Haha, you deny it, yet you know deep down that it is true. You have been liberated from him and have now been placed into the care of Hatori. From this day forward, Hatori shall raise you, child, in any way that he deems fit. You will abide by our laws and are never to set foot outside of the prefecture's walls. Do you understand, fox," he said with a demeaning sneer.

"Akito-"

"Silence!" The one called Akito shouted at Hatori. He resumed his silenced position, still holding me close as I trembled.

"I will say this but once more...do you understand?"

"Y-Yes..." I whispered. This faint acknowledgment of his words was enough to satisfy him. He turned his back to us, almost repulsed by me, and walked out of the room.

"I will be keeping an eye on you, fox, so don't try anything. Be an obedient little servant and I might consider freeing you when you are of age..." he added, a faint glimmer of hope instilled in my feeble mind. I heard the door to Hatori's house quietly close, Akito leaving us alone. We sat in silence for a few moments, my mind running with questions and fear.