A blessing or a curse

Chapter 5

Only five minutes had gone by, yet it felt like hours. The rain continued, pounding against the roof as Hatori had finished his observation of mine, Tohru and Momiji's wounds. I hadn't even known Momiji was hurt until I was brought inside.

I felt dazed and confused as Akito's words continued to play on inside my head. "Your knees are scraped and your wrist is bruised, but with time you'll be alright." Though I could hear his voice Hatori's words felt as though they had been mumbled rather than spoken, my mind was to confused to register his words properly.

"What did Akito mean, how am I his, what do my grandparents have to do with anything?" My words were a whisper, but by the look Hatori gave me I knew he had heard and so had Shigure judging by his words. "Tohru, why don't you an Momiji go up to bed. It's quite late."

I turned my head to see Tohru nod hers and grab Momiji's hand as she led the both of them out of the living room and up the stairs. Now it was just me, Shigure and Hatori. "I was hoping we'd have more time before you found out." Shigure spoke, then chuckled, which caught me off guard. "Oh Akito, you cause us so much trouble." He spoke as he sat on the couch across from me beside Hatori.

"What do you mean?" I questioned, his words only worsening my confusion. "It began with your Grandparents." Hatori spoke, his voice as cold and emotionless as always, though now it seemed even more so. "They met a few members of our inner family when your mother and father had just married. Your mother being a close friend of one of these Sohma's children introduced them and to make a long story short later on that ended in our secret being brought to light."

I sat quietly wanting the answers that I felt would come. "You may have been to young to have noticed it, but your Grandparents were quite self absorbed people, and when they learned that they and their daughter would have to lose their memories they refused." He sighed as if the thought of it was tiering. "Naturally this couldn't be allowed, that is until news of it was brought to the family head at that time Akira."

'Akira, he must be closely related to Akito'. "So what happened, and what does it have to do with me?" I asked still confused, but now also curious. "Akira made a deal with your Grandparents and they accepted." Hatori paused, his expression seeming more troubled then before. "What was the deal?" I asked wanting to know the whole story.

He sighed, seeming conflicted about his next words, but I just looked on asking him to continue. "In exchange for them and their daughter to keep their memories their future granddaughter would have to marry his son, the next family head." In that moment I felt as though the air in my lungs was trapped, my own Grandparents sold off my hand in marriage.

Shigure's voice suddenly rang out, seeming unfazed by what Hatori had just revealed to me. "In other words you've been engaged to Akito your whole life and soon you'll be wed." His voice carried an air of playfulness, but also nonchalance. "Must you say it like that?" Hatori shouted aggravated with Shigure, who just smirked at the man.

"So that's why you asked me here, not because you wanted to see me, but because you wanted to tell me I've been engaged my whole life." I suddenly heard a chuckle and looked over to shigure finding an amused look plastered across his face. "No, I did miss you, but actually I asked you here just for you and Akito to meet. I had hopped to tell you a bit later on, but it seems Akito has other plans."

My head turned to Hatori, who had remained silent for some time now. "Hatori, why didn't you tell me, I thought you were my friend, not just my doctor." He was about to respond before Shigure interrupted. "Oh don't blame Tori, he wanted to but Akito and another kept him quiet." I felt a tear slide down my cheek as a thought came to mind as I stared at Hatori's down cast expression.

"Where you only ever around to keep tabs on me, both of you?" I asked saddened for what the answer would be. "Yes, I was entrusted to be your doctor so the Sohma's could keep an eye on their heads future bride, or at least that's how Ren put it." He mumbled the last part so I couldn't quite make out the name he spoke, yet his words had cut like a knife.

I looked away, not being able to look at either of them any longer. "So I was just an assignment to you both, you never actually cared about me." My mind was rushing with all the memories I had of the two Sohma's not remembering a time when one on them wasn't present in my life, but then realised it was because they had to.

"Now that's not true, it may have begun like that but we both grew to care for you Isa, that is true." Shigure spoke. I wanted to believe him, believe that although in the beginning I was just a task to them but at some point it had grown into a real friendship with the two of them, but how could I after all I've learnt tonight. Even my own Grandparents didn't love me enough to protect me from this fait, how could I believe any different from these two.

I then stood feeling both their eyes on me. "I need time to think and sleep. I also need to check on Tohru and Momiji see if they're ok." I began walking out of the living room feeling their eye's linger on my form until I reached the edge of the room and disappeared up the stairs.