{These characters are not property of me. I would never attempt to claim them as my own. This story may not be used without my permission, and may not be used to make money in any way, shape or form. Characters and certain situations were created by Rumiko Takahashi, so don't try any funny stuff!}
Akane was in the kitchen cooking. With Kodachi's help, she had actually mastered curry. That was now a dish she could cook with minimal effort, and no one seemed to mind eating it.
Now why she had such a problem with a stupid can of soup, she didn't know. But it wasn't just one can of soup... She looked at the mess around her. It was five cans of soup.
Stomping her foot in frustration and splattering soup about, Akane growled in frustration. It was so annoying because she just couldn't figure out what she was doing wrong.
At that point, Tatewaki entered the kitchen and went to the refrigerator, not even glancing at Akane. It was well known that when she was attempting to cook, it was best not to mention it, no matter how terrible things looked.
Akane glared at him, chest heaving, soup clinging to her face. "What do you want?" she snapped.
"Just... getting a drink," he said, sounding calm and relaxed. "Would you like something while I am here?" he offered.
Akane deflated. "No, I'm not thirsty." She pounded the counter with her fist and swore to herself.
Tatewaki looked at her and started to say something, but shut his mouth. Looking at her for another moment, he turned back to the refrigerator.
Akane started over, opening another can of soup slowly and with shaking hands. It helped a little if she went slow, but the results were always the same.
The soup went in the pot, and this was where Akane knew a pinch of salt and pepper would do well to season the soup. She did it with the curry; she could do it with the soup.
Making very sure she picked up the container of salt and not something else, Akane opened the spout and started to pour some in the palm of her hand.
Faster than she could react to, the entire top came off and dumped nearly the entire container's worth of salt into her hand and the soup.
Staring, stunned, it took only a few seconds for Akane to break out in a blood-curdling scream. That was it. The last straw. She hadn't even had the chance to cook this time before it had gotten ruined. Well that was it.
There was the sound of wrenching metal, which made Tatewaki peek up over the open refrigerator door. When he had heard the scream, he had hunkered down and hoped it wouldn't be... too bad.
Seeing Akane, standing at the stove with a mangled pan in her hands, a look of insane, boiling anger on her face, Tatewaki cringed. It was that bad. "Akane?" he asked weakly, immediately wondering why he had called attention to himself.
Her head whipped around, strands of her hair sticking in the globs of soup on her face, and she glared at him. "What do you want?" she hissed, the pan crumpling further in her hands.
"Nothing. I... just wanted to..."
"WHAT?"
"... help," he finished meekly, his eyes darting back and forth, just visible over the door. He caught sight of the swinging door that exited the kitchen, and his eyes moved back and forth between Akane and his escape.
"Help?" Akane nearly roared. "What do I need YOUR help for?"
Tatewaki shrugged, not speaking this time.
"I don't need your help! I don't need YOU at all!" she yelled, taking the opportunity to hurl the pan at what she could see of him.
Tatewaki ducked down as the pan whizzed over the refrigerator. He had two choices. He could make a run for it, or he could do something about it. He decided.
He scurried out from behind the refrigerator door, covering his head with his arms in case she had something else to throw, and ran at Akane. Maybe she wouldn't manage to knock him flat.
Akane tried, with more zeal than she had ever shown in school, she really tried to knock his head off, yelling the entire time.
He couldn't quite understand what she was saying, hearing them only as slurred vulgarities directed at him and his gender.
And for once, he managed to dodge. He felt the breeze as her fist passed an inch in front of his nose, but her momentum swung her around, sliding in the mess on the floor.
Akane ended up practically throwing herself into Tatewaki's arms. She slammed into him with a grunt, feet slipping out from underneath her.
The two collapsed to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs, now covered in soup mess.
Akane's rage had turned to despair and she laid, unmoving, on Tatewaki, crying softly. "It's not fair. Why can't I get it right? Why can't I ever get it right?"
Unsure of what to say, and fearing it might anger her again, Tatewaki stroked her back.
"That time of the month, Akane?" Nabiki asked as she strolled into the kitchen and noted the two on the floor.
Akane looked up at Nabiki, her face red and streaked with tears. "Yeah," she replied quietly.
Getting some juice out of the refrigerator and closing the door, Nabiki said, "Those mood swings will kill ya." She turned and left the kitchen.
Standing, Akane grabbed a towel that wasn't too dirty and wiped her hands on it. Then she began methodically cleaning the counters off.
Tatewaki stood as well and began picking up the scattered cooking implements. After taking care of them, he went to the little kitchen supply closet and got out a mop. He started on the floors.
Neither spoke at all as they worked, not even acknowledging the presence of the other.
It took almost 30 minutes to get the kitchen back to respectable condition.
"Thanks," Akane mumbled as she was leaving the kitchen. Her shoulders were slumped and her head was down.
"Akane, if you... if you want help... with anything..." Tatewaki said as he watched her walk away.
Akane waved her hand, dismissing him.
***
The water was boiling, the skillet was hot, now just to add everything. Once the vegetables were cooked and the meat fried, they would all be added together to make a unique blend of textures.
Noodles and vegetables went into the water, causing the boiling to reduce slightly, and then a little salt (just a little) was added. The burner was turned down to low. A mix of pork and seafood was dumped into the skillet, where it immediately sizzled merrily.
Akane watched it all with jealous eyes. She was sure she'd be able to cook something like that, but... The prospect of how much time and effort it would take was just so daunting. She sighed pitifully.
"I am sure you will master this one day."
Akane nodded and sighed again as she watched Tatewaki check on the rice. The fact that he could cook dinner for all of them and she couldn't manage anything more than one dish was just so frustrating.
How could he be better than her? It was just... It made Akane want to scream.
"You may help, if you would like," Tatewaki said to her.
"No, I'd just ruin it all," she said, annoyed with herself as much as him.
"I am sure you would not. Come here and assist me."
He just wasn't leaving it alone. "Fine. Don't blame me when Nabiki and Kodachi complain about dinner," she said, standing and walking over to the stove.
"They won't", he answered, giving her a tentative smile. "Nabiki, she cooks none at all. She has no place to speak. If she does, I shall enjoy putting her in her place."
The secretive, vaguely passionate grin on his face was enough to make Akane hope Nabiki did say something. Then she'd have another chance with Kodachi while they were occupied.
That was something about the two that made her wonder though. Sometimes they were downright nasty with each other, but... They sniped, and insulted, and were generally unpleasant to each other, but without fail, they would end up...
"Akane?"
She looked at Tatewaki and noticed he was holding something out to her, looking at her expectantly. "What?"
"Would you add this to the meat and stir it?"
"Oh, sure." Akane took the measured amount of seasoning and dumped it into the frying meat, then began to stir it. She let her thoughts wander once again.
Hell, she was as passionate as Nabiki, probably more so. Everyone knew Akane as the one with the fire, the drive, and her sister was the cold-hearted bitch.
So why did she always feel like she was being left out, excluded? Why didn't she cry out in ecstasy loud enough to wake the dead? No one ever smiled secretively or passionately about her.
"Kuno," she said abruptly, staring blankly at the cooking meat. "I think I... I think maybe I should move out."
"What? Why would you..."
"It just feels like I'm missing something here." She shrugged. "I don't know what it is. I just don't feel... complete."
"And I suppose saying I didn't want you to leave would have no impact on your decision at all," he said quietly.
Tatewaki was surprised when she didn't flat out deny it, but only shrugged.
"I just don't feel... I don't feel like I'm... I don't feel like I'm _alive_ here. I still feel like I'm at home and Dad and Kasumi and Ranma and Nabiki are all taking care of me. I feel like I'm a child still, and I'm tired of feeling that way."
Tatewaki stayed quiet, listening to her as he tended to the food.
"Look, I have to talk to you because you're the only one that I can actually get to keep quiet while I talk, and that's only because you're afraid of me." Akane had always thought talking was supposed to help, but this was only making her feel worse.
"On the contrary. I am not afraid of you. The reason I... shy away from you is that I am fully aware that you find me... unpleasant. Why bring unnecessary suffering upon each of us?"
"But when I'm mad..."
"Then you are mad. I have no fear of your wrath. Have I not faced it before? Yet, here I stand. We only wish to avoid escalating your anger, and that seems best accomplished by avoiding you."
Akane's mood soured further. The whole anger thing again. Why was it always that? Why did she have to be angry like that when no one else was? "I hate it," she said quietly. "I hate scaring everyone away because I can't control myself, because I'm so horrible at everything."
"Nonsense. I know of several things that you do well. Are you not the master of your school of martial arts?"
Akane flushed. "Sort of, but I don't consider myself to be. I'm just not good enough. Not nearly as good as... as Ranma is."
"Well, your curry can not be surpassed."
"That's one dish. That doesn't mean anything."
"Your brick-breaking. I've never seen anyone with the strength and stamina to break so many blocks with so little effort."
Akane looked up at Tatewaki strangely. "You've been watching me."
Tatewaki didn't answer for a moment, concentrating on stirring the noodles. "Once or twice," he answered finally.
Frowning a little, Akane looked away. "I don't like that."
"I know."
They stayed quiet until the food was almost done.
"Um..." Akane started to say against her better judgement. This was a serious blow for her pride. "Do you think you could..."
"Anything you ask of me."
"Do you think you could help me get better at kendo?" She knew how to use a shinai, and knew some basic moves, but even Kuno was better than her.
"Why would you ever need me for that?" he asked, genuinely surprised.
"Because it's the one thing I can do, and there's someone here who can help me get better at it. No one's been able to consistently help me with my cooking, and even then it seems pointless."
"It is not pointless for you..."
"But it is because I just don't care." Akane shrugged helplessly. "I just don't care enough to get good at it. Not any longer."
"That is... unfortunate."
"It just doesn't seem like the thing for me. So... could you?" she asked, not looking at him.
"I shall, but I still don't see what you need me for."
Akane sighed. "Look, we still have... Well, you have another year, and it's two for me until we graduate. I just want something for myself for those two years." The edge returned to her voice. "I'm not going to be the ex-fiancee of Ranma and the school prize for the rest of my life."
Tatewaki flushed, looking guilty, and nodded.
"And you're the best in the school. Everyone knows it. You weren't good enough to beat... the others, but I don't care about getting into street fights.
"I just want something where it's what I'm doing. Something that's just for me. I don't want someone always on my heels, pushing me to do what I don't want to. I just want to live my life."
"A noble endeavor. Of course I shall help."
Akane smiled a little then. Maybe she'd actually get good at something finally.
***
It was for real this time. This wasn't one of Kuno's little games; this was a very real challenge. If there wasn't any other way to tell, it was by the look on his face.
Kuno was almost snarling at her, his shinai held in the ready position. In practice, he had always worn a haughty, arrogant expression, knowing full his superiority over her in the controlled setting.
"I should warn you, it will not be to your advantage to hold back. I shan't," Tatewaki warned.
Akane nodded once, feeling the trickle of sweat down the side of her face.
The two watched on the sidelines.
"Wow, he wasn't kidding about not holding back. Akane's getting her butt kicked."
"I've never seen him so vigorous in a match before; it's quite impressive. I do hope he's not taking that date foolishness seriously still."
Nabiki shook her head. "Akane would be pissed if he was."
"Then we would have to nurse him back to health. He's so very compliant when he's unconscious," Kodachi said, smiling slyly.
"That is something I wouldn't know."
"Nonsense. What about all those trips to the infirmary? He would always arrive home, complaining about how you overcharged him for the service. And yet... I could see something in his eyes."
"That doesn't mean I... did anything to him though."
Kodachi raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't?"
"Of course not!"
"You protest quite loudly. I think it does."
Nabiki gave Kodachi a friendly shove. "No, it doesn't."
"Oh really?" Kodachi asked slowly.
"Yeah, so get your mind out of the gutter." The smile on Kodachi's face should have been her first warning that something was about to happen, but Nabiki just wasn't paying that much attention.
Before Nabiki realized what was happening, she was on her back, Kodachi pinning her down. "Mind in the gutter? I know several people who seem to enjoy it when it is there," she purred, their noses an inch away from each other.
She smiled before her hand began exploring the various methods of getting inside Nabiki's clothing. "If my mind is in the gutter, then my hands shall find a more entertaining place to be."
Nabiki struggled, but the more powerful girl had her pinned down just so. "Get off me, Kodachi," she demanded.
Kodachi grinned. "The magic word is?" she asked.
Growling at her, Nabiki said, "Please."
Kodachi appeared to think about it, then shook her head. "I don't think so." Her hand resumed its exploration.
This time, Nabiki couldn't help but shriek. "Don't! Not there! Stop..." The power of her protests faded as Kodachi began nibbling on her neck. "Not... here..."
Amazingly, Akane and Tatewaki were oblivious to the two, and were still engrossed in their match.
Akane was sore from sharp blows in several areas, but she had gotten in a few of her own. The whole thing was almost scary, the way she could feel her body slowing down with the effects of fatigue, and Kuno was still just as sharp.
This was a fight she didn't want to lose, but at the rate things were going, it didn't appear that she would have a choice. There was one minor comfort though: she at least knew where she stood, what her skills were in direct comparison with Kuno's. She was lacking, of course, but it wasn't something she couldn't overcome either.
What finally did her in though, was catching a glimpse of Kodachi attacking Nabiki on the floor. It was a quick glimpse that turned into a double-take, which turned into a full stare.
That was when she was jabbed in the stomach, hit in the arm, then in the shoulder in quick succession. Stumbling back, shinai lowered, she had no chance against the overhead strike that sent her into unconsciousness.
The room swam into focus, the edges fuzzy still. Her whole head was buzzing, and her shoulder ached. Trying to sit up, Akane realized that was a bad idea.
If she hadn't been distracted, she wouldn't have been hit like that. At least they had the decency to put her in bed after it and not just leave her on the floor.
Bringing her hand around very slowly to her head, it dawned on Akane that it must have been a fairly severe injury to lay her up like she was. Oh, she would let those two have it when she got her hands on them.
"Kodachi, I hope you know I'm going to get you for this," she said as loudly as her ears could handle.
"I'm afraid they've gone," Tatewaki said, entering the room with a cloth in his hand. "I believe Kodachi plans to make something special for dinner to make up for what happened." He sat on the edge of the bed and applied the cool cloth to Akane's forehead.
"As if she didn't know any better... I mean, what were they thinking? We were right in the middle of a match!"
"Yes, it was quite irresponsible of them." Tatewaki dared to lower the blanket a little and revealed Akane's bare shoulder. "How does it feel?"
Akane started to move her arm and winced. "Still hurts."
Tatewaki nodded. "With the look of this bruise, it may be a few more days before the discomfort goes away." He placed an icepack from the night table on the injury.
"So what did you think of our first match?" he asked.
Akane attempted to shrug, but the pain prevented her. She didn't think she should have done that poorly, that she wasn't that far outclassed by Kuno, but there was no denying how easily he had dealt with her. He hadn't won outright, but she would have fatigued and lost eventually.
"It was a good match, better than what I see from the members of the kendo team. You benefit greatly from your martial arts experience." He watched the color slowly return to her cheeks. "How are you feeling now?"
"Fine for the most part." Akane winced again when she tried to brace herself on her arm to sit up. "How long was I out?"
"Not long, but I was concerned. Any period of unconsciousness may be damaging. I was close to calling a doctor."
"Well thanks. It wasn't necessary. Really," Akane answered, feeling suddenly uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable in a bad way, the way Kuno used to make her feel, but more embarrassed than anything. It distinctly reminded her of the times she had caught Ranma looking at her... in that way.
Akane flushed and turned her head. "I'm fine now. You can go."
"Are you positive? If you need me to stay, I shall." Kuno put his hand to Akane's forehead in one of the vague ways he knew to check someone's health.
"Don't touch me!" she snapped with more ferocity than she had meant.
Tatewaki jerked his hand away like his flesh had been burned. "Forgive me," he said, his tone carefully neutral. His face, which had been open and expressive, was suddenly guarded and unreadable.
He stood stiffly, moving to the door as quickly as possible. "Next time, I shall know better than to assist you when you are injured." It was obvious that he had been insulted and hurt by Akane's words. "I think this shall be the end of your lessons."
Akane opened her mouth to say something, but Tatewaki continued. "If you will not allow me to take care of you when you are injured, then I will not train you. It is my duty as your superior to ensure your safety when you are under my tutelage."
Tatewaki seemed to stand a little straighter. "I am the captain of the kendo team, and I never abandon my duty. No injury is minor to one of my teammates. It is... was the only thing I believed in. I still hold that as one of my duties even if the... visions of glory have faded."
"Who taught you?" Akane asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"My grandfather, for the most part. My... my father is worthless. He didn't understand why I wanted to do such a ridiculous thing. He didn't understand very much about me." Tatewaki turned to leave and give Akane her privacy.
"Wait. You don't have to go. It was just habit. If you feel you have to take care of me because of what happened, then you can."
"Akane," Tatewaki said, tiredness in his voice, "I try, yet you continue to reject even the smallest show of friendship. I am at my wits end."
Akane forced herself not to get angry. "Show of friendship? Was that before or after you grabbed my chest? Or after you kissed me? Or maybe it was after the 500th time I told you I didn't want anything to do with your sorry ass!" She let out a breath.
"It was after... after I realized I didn't need you. I didn't need you to find someone to love me." If Akane hadn't known him better, she would have thought he was serious.
"Who? You mean Nabiki? She doesn't love you. She doesn't love anybody." Now that did come out angry, but Akane wasn't sure she didn't mean it that way. "The only thing she loves is your money. So just stow your little fantasies. This is reality."
To her sick surprise, there were tears in her eyes. "Get out," he whispered. "Get out of my house."
His voice seemed to cut Akane right to the bone and she stared at him with amazement.
"I loved you. I loved you the only way I knew how. Maybe you're right. Maybe Nabiki doesn't love me, but she's at least shown me how to FAKE IT!"
Akane could only stare as the anger twisted his face into a vicious, snarling mask.
"At least I know what it's supposed to be like! You want my sister? You can go to HELL just as soon as you get out of my house!" Tatewaki yelled, his face red.
"But..."
"GET OUT!"
Akane sat up slowly in the bed, her body still aching. She gingerly removed herself from the bed and slowly slipped on the workout clothes that were waiting for her.
At first, she tried to collect some things from her room, but Tatewaki forbid it.
"Get out and don't show your face here again," he seethed when they were at the front door.
Akane put on her shoes and walked through the door. She trudged down the walk and looked back just in time to see the door slam shut.
Akane walked slowly down the sidewalk, not sure at all where she was going. She had nothing at the moment, not even any money.
"Hey, Sis."
"Akane Tendo, what are you doing out?"
Akane looked up to see both Kodachi and Nabiki approaching her. Inwardly she cringed. These weren't people she felt like dealing with at the moment.
"You weren't in any shape to be going for a walk when we left," Nabiki commented.
"Indeed. What brings you now?" Kodachi asked, noting Akane's bedraggled look and the way she was favoring her arm.
"Nothing," she replied and hung her head once again.
"Praytell, why are you out in those dirty clothes then?"
Only shrugging and looking at her feet, Akane didn't have the courage to say why.
"Then why don't we all retreat to the house?" Kodachi suggested, looking warily at Akane.
Akane finally responded. "I can't."
"Oh. And why not?"
"He kicked me out."
Kodachi just stared at her for a moment, stunned. "He did what?"
Akane swallowed audibly. "He kicked me out. He said he didn't want to see me ever again."
"Why that..." Kodachi said with gritted teeth. "We are going back right now and I will show him who should be kicked out of the house." She began marching toward the house, one hand vise-like on Akane's arm.
Akane glanced over at Nabiki, who was looking at her suspiciously. "No, Kodachi. Don't. I don't want to cause trouble."
"There is no bother, Akane. He has no right to remove you from the house simply because you refuse to give in to his..." Kodachi stopped when she looked back and saw Akane shaking her head.
"Well then, I think you have something you need to tell us then."
"I... I didn't really mean it. He was just... It just seemed obvious to me," Akane said, almost desperately.
"What did you say? What happened?" Kodachi's voice was calm, but far from sympathetic. It was more clinical than anything.
"I just said that nobody..."
"Nobody what, Akane?" Kodachi looked quickly at Nabiki, who was glaring at her sister. She was a possessive little devil, something Kodachi admired.
"That nobody... loved him. That Nabiki only wanted him for his money."
"Now Akane, that wasn't very nice, and you know that simply isn't true." Kodachi glanced at Nabiki and nodded this time.
Immediately, Nabiki was walking toward the house, a scowl on her face. Akane watched her forlornly.
"Why did you say such a thing, Akane? I simply can't imagine anything he could have done that would warrant such treatment." Kodachi managed to look confused and angry at the same time.
She waited for Akane to answer, but there were no words forthcoming.
"You can't deny that you said it, so just tell me why." Kodachi was starting to lose her patience. Akane was nearly an adult, and her behavior was that of a child.
"I don't know. I just..." She hadn't wanted him near her. He was getting far too comfortable with the way things were, and she had needed to put him back in his place. That's what she told herself.
Kodachi just looked at her, and Akane could feel her gaze pierce her to her very soul, to know that there was something she wasn't saying.
"We are returning to the house," Kodachi proclaimed. "You will not be removed; we simply have matters to discuss."
"Vile, hateful, lying bitch!"
Even as the pieces of the practice dummy fell to the floor, Tatewaki continued to beat on them with his bokken.
"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!"
The bokken fell from his nerveless fingers and clattered to the floor, the noise very loud in the emptiness of the practice room. He sank to his knees slowly and stared at the destroyed dummy, his mind a jumble of anger and confusion. He hated her. He hated her because she lied. It was a lie. He wouldn't believe anything else.
"She was wrong, you know." Soft footsteps whispered across the hardwood floor. "It wasn't true."
"Please, just... just leave me alone. I don't want your pity. If all you want is the money, just say it. You owe me the truth," he responded, still staring at the floor.
"The truth? The truth is that she was wrong." Nabiki sat down behind him and touched his arm. "It's not all about the money. It's been what now? Almost six months?"
"Six months, yes." In fact, his final year of school was about to start, though that was the furthest thing from his mind.
Her body pressed against his back and she spoke enticingly in his ear. "I've grown to appreciate more than just the comforts here in that six months. No matter what Akane says, she doesn't speak for me."
"I hate her."
"You don't hate her. Don't say that just because you're mad."
"I hate her for taking it all away from me. Whether she was speaking the truth or not, now... now I am unsure. The truth was of no concern before. It was adequate for me to believe that you... that you..." Tatewaki hung his head. "Now I doubt even the sincerity of even my own sister's affection."
"Words can be far more harmful than violence. Do you see that? I'm very disappointed that you would do such a thing, because I know. I know that you realize the power of what you say."
"But..."
"And how would you feel if I told your older sister and your father that you no longer cared for them?"
Akane sighed. She had lost the argument before it had even started. "I... I would hate it."
"I know," Kodachi said quietly from where they stood outside the practice room, "that there are things about our family you are unaware of. That is our fault for not setting those boundaries, but no one likes to speak of that which they find... unpleasant."
"He... he mentioned something about his grandfather," Akane offered quietly.
"It was not that our father did not care, he simply did not understand, nor did he make any efforts to understand. After a time, long after we had come into our own as people, his caring faded, along with his sanity."
Kodachi took a last look into the practice room where her brother was being held gently by Nabiki. "Look, Akane-chan. Tell me if you still believe what you said."
Akane, looking miserable already, looked into the room and saw the two. "I didn't know. Nabiki's not..."
"But she is. I think you've underestimated your sister terribly. I think you've underestimated us all. Even yourself."
"Don't look at her. Look at me."
"I hate her."
Nabiki held Tatewaki's chin, forcing him to look at her. "She hurt you, but things don't need to be this way. You don't need to let her do this to you." She shook his head a little. "Do you hear me?"
Tatewaki nodded. "But still..."
"But still nothing. I don't like you like this. It's not very pleasant."
He hung his head slightly in her grasp. "I'm sorry."
"Good. Now you know it doesn't need to be this way, and I don't want you to let her get to you."
She stared at him while he ventured a glance at her. He immediately dropped his gaze.
Nabiki sighed. "Is she really worth it?"
***
Akane woke up. Another morning, another day. She yawned and stretched briefly. A morning jog was sounding excellent.
She tossed back the covers and swung her legs out of bed. That was when she saw the vase sitting on the dresser. It was an elegant, black item with a pattern of roses etched into it and colored in white.
It was almost bursting with black roses.
Kodachi was in the kitchen preparing lunches for everyone when Akane walked in.
"Good morning," she chirped and stood right at Kodachi's shoulder.
Looking over, Kodachi raised an eyebrow, then returned to making lunch. "And why are we so chipper this morning?"
"Oh, nothing." Akane leaned forward to kiss Kodachi's cheek, then backed away. "I'm going for my jog." She was gone in an instant.
Akane woke up the next morning to find a similar vase waiting for her. The work Kodachi must have been putting into them was amazing. Akane couldn't imagine where she found the time.
After she had gotten dressed for the day, she broke off one of the flowers and fixed it to her shirt. The bloom was very beautiful, large and full. While it didn't appear that it would last very long, it was absolutely gorgeous in its final stage of maturity.
After two weeks of flowers and endless flirting with Kodachi, Akane couldn't stand it any longer.
She left in the morning, declaring she would be out shopping for some new clothes for the rapidly approaching school year. She assured everyone that she would be gone for hours, possibly meeting Yuka and/or Sayuri and not returning until after dinner.
Actually, Akane had no interest in new clothes. The ones she had were just fine. Instead, she waited for an hour, window shopping for the most part, and then returned to the house. It was her turn to surprise Kodachi.
Stealthily, Akane made it through the yard and to the greenhouse without being seen. She hunkered down and made her way to the door, below the level of sight. She had tried to peek in, but her view had been obscured by some large plants and she hadn't been able to see exactly where Kodachi had been in the greenhouse.
Akane just knew she had to be in there. The flowers were just so nice, she had to be working on them every day. Eventually, peering in, she saw some movement.
Turning the knob ever so slowly and opening the door and inch at a time, Akane eased herself inside. She didn't dare shut the door behind her, and instead, crept across the floor.
She counted silently to herself to three then bounced to her feet and shouted, "Gotcha!"
The pruning shears fell to the bench as Tatewaki yelped in fright. He turned, his hand on his chest, and stared at Akane.
She looked first at his stunned face, then at the bench behind him, at the bunch of roses he had been arranging. The bunch of black roses. They weren't quite fully open yet, but she could guess that they would be the next morning.
"It was you? The entire time, it was you?" she asked, her stare now directed at him. "Don't you ever get a hint?!" Two purposeful steps forward and she pulled her fist back.
Her violence was curbed when she saw him flinch away from her incoming fist. "You are. You're afraid of me," she said reverently and took another step forward.
Tatewaki quivered like a frightened rabbit and fled suddenly. He knocked over the roses as he moved past Akane as fast as he could go.
Akane watched him go, then looked back at the spilled roses. "He's really afraid of me." She shook her head slightly and picked up one of the roses. "He just doesn't learn..."
"I challenge you!"
Tatewaki looked at her with disbelief. "You what?"
"I challenge you. You can't refuse me." Akane's stance was rigid and unwavering. "If you somehow manage to defeat me," she proclaimed with a sneer on her face, "I will allow you a single date."
Tatewaki just stood there, staring.
With an ear-splitting battle cry, Akane charged forward and swung her bokken.
Blocking just in time, Tatewaki pleaded with her, "Please stop, Akane. I don't want to do this." He stayed on the defensive, never once counterattacking.
"I don't care, it doesn't matter. Have you ever cared what I wanted?" she said, furious. "Fight me, damn it!" She attacked even more ferociously.
"I don't want to hurt you, Akane," Tatewaki said feebly.
"Shut up and fight. You're just afraid of me." The disgust on her face was plainly visible.
"Don't make me do this," he almost wailed.
Akane growled and got a strike through his defenses. He cried out in pain, something she had never seen him do before. "Fight, you idiot! Fight for real for once and maybe you'll actually beat someone!"
There was a sudden snap of control, and before Akane could register what was going on, she was on the floor with stars in her vision.
"Leave me alone! Why... why won't you stop? I don't want to, but I can't help myself." Tatewaki fell to the floor and put his face in his hands, weeping.
***
"About that date..."
"I am not really up to discussing that now."
"It'll be something for you to look forward to when you get back."
The two were standing outside, next to the waiting taxi.
"I... I don't want to go," he said, pouting.
"It'll be better if you do. It's only for a week until school starts. It won't be all bad." Akane smiled up at him.
"I don't want to see a doctor. They might find something wrong with me."
"And if they do, then they'll be able to make it better." That scene that had taken place a little less than a week ago had scared her. There was something definitely not right with Kuno, and she had insisted to Kodachi and Nabiki that he get some help.
That help had led to this scene, the trip to a place where he would get constant observation and care for an entire week.
"So when you get back you'll be fine and we'll go out on that date, right?"
Tatewaki nodded, clutching his bag tightly. He didn't want to go, but they wouldn't let him stay. And he wanted to stay where he knew he was safe, where no one would find anything wrong with him. "I don't want to go," he whispered again.
Akane pulled the bag from his hand a placed it inside the taxi. She steered him around and tried to get him inside the car. "Go on. Everyone will still be here when you get back."
He gave her a pathetic nod and started to get into the taxi.
Throwing caution to the wind, Akane suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug. "Be careful," she said.
He sighed at the contact. "I will."
Akane released the hug and watched him get into the car. She waved as he closed the door and the vehicle sped away.