TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCE
A Fruits Basket Fanfic

Written by Miyu, Vampire Princess

AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Ah, yes. A sequel! This story is the sequel to I.M. As much as I love promoting my own work, it is not necessary to read I.M. to understand this story (but read it anyway, come on you know you wanna). A bit of violence in this part, so tread lightly.

Part Three - DISCOVERED

The Honke is eerily quiet this late at night. I should be grateful, but it makes it a little more difficult to move around quietly. Can quiet really be any quieter?

There's a light on in Hatori's office. Either he's working late again, or he fell asleep working. I can't help but shake my head. How does he do it -- take care of all of us? I know I'd have a hard time in his position. I happen to like my sleep.

It's one of the rare times when I can actually think of Tohru.

My body reacts to that thought and the slim body of my cousin suddenly becomes heavier in my arms. After what had occurred at Shigure-sensei's, I can hardly complain. That was quite daring on both our parts, especially with my other cousins in the room. Kyo would've tried to beat me senseless where Yuki probably would've succeeded had we been caught. Momiji...well he probably would've just whined that it should've been HIM Tohru was with. They're all so protective of her.

My li'l flower is blossoming into quite the bold lady.

Again, I can't complain.

Thankfully Momiji's room isn't far from mine. He's heavier than he looks. Of course, he's grown some in the past year too. Soon he'll be as tall as me. The thought is somewhat disturbing. Perhaps he'll be less of the innocent pervert then. Then again, he shouldn't stray too far from what works for him.

With a sigh, I place Momiji to bed and head for my own room. The windows look dark from the outside, but that's because the drapes I decided to put up were jet black. Like I said, I like my sleep.

Sliding the door open, I immediately slip off my shoes and step inside. My eyes take a moment to adjust to the darkness, only it's not totally dark. The edge of my bed is being illuminated by my computer monitor.

Then I realize that my computer is on.

Nani? I'm positive I shut it down.

"Konbanwa, Haru-san."

Oh, blow me! Big time!

It's Akito.

It takes me a while to see him through the semi-darkness. He slowly slinks off my bed and out of the shadows. In the dim light I'm highly aware of how much he looks like Yuki...or is that the other way around? It's a beauty that steals my breath away.

And makes me want to vomit.

"What are you doing here?" The words leave my mouth much harsher than they should. But I'm angry. He's never invaded my space before...well, at least not my room. I want to know what's going on.

"I haven't seen you in such a long time it seems," he replied, a small smile on his face. It looks more like a smirk to me. "We haven't talked in such a long time."

'Which is just fine by me.' I find the time to bite my tongue on that one. Akito's wrath is merciless. Even I'm not immune and honestly, I'm far too tired. Is there any other way of putting it...well gently?

My mind comes up with an immeditae answer. Nope.

I sigh to myself, somewhat defeated. "What do you want to talk about?"

The smile grows...evil. Like a Cheshire cat. It's stretching practically ear to ear now. He nods to my computer, pointing to the screen.

"That."

I shrug. "My computer?"

The smile never leaves his face. He shakes his head like a child and points to it again. "No. That."

"I don't understand."

"Look closer."

Fine. I step further into my room, trying to keep what I consider a safe distance between Akito and myself. As I approach the monitor, I realize that my IM is loaded and running. Thankfully Tohru wouldn't be online tonight and there were no new messages flashing. But there's one screen that shouldn't be running at all.

My message history.

A chill runs down my spine and I can't suppress the shiver of fear that rolls off of me. My breath is shaky as I inhale deeply. My eyes scan the open file contents quickly. I'm half-way through it when I realize that it didn't start at the beginning.

There's a sound in the room that's chilling. Frighteningly so. A strange noise that I've never heard before. Am I going insane?

No, Akito is laughing. He's really laughing. I admit I must look rather stupid staring dumbly at the computer but why would he...?

Kami no!

"So what's she really like, Haru? Your little flower?"

SHIT!

He's read the messages.

What do I do now?

"Tell me, is she as gentle and soft in real life as she is on your computer screen?"

Kami, what do I say?!

"Tell me!"

My silence is making him angry. The smile is stripped away from his face as he grabs my arm and pulls me around to look at him. His strength, when he's not ill, is incredible. I have little choice but to look up into the cold orbs of his eyes.

"What is she really like?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," I mutter. No sooner do the words leave my mouth that I regret them. They'll only make him angrier.

But he doesn't lift a hand to me. Instead, his grip on my arm gets tighter and pulls me closer. Kami, it hurts. How strong is he?!

"I want to know what she's really like," he repeats. There's something in his eyes. Something...horrible. "What does she smell like? Taste like?"

My anger is starting to get the better of me. Under any other circumstances I would've gone black by now and the poor sod would wish he'd never messed with me. But these are no ordinary circumstances. And the poor sod scares the shit out of me more than I will ever scare him.

Still, I say the first thing that comes to mind.

"Why? Are you jealous?!"

And it's the WRONG thing to say.

SMACK!

The slap on my face stings worse than a sunburn. Tugging me by the shirt, he sends me reeling towards the bed. The kick that follows catches me behind the knees and forces me to the ground.

Strong fingers wrap around my chin, forcing me to look upward. Akito's standing over me, the Cheshire smile back on his face. "You know I wouldn't be so mean if you would just tell me what I want to know? Don't you want to share?"

"Fuck off!"

SMACK! SMACK! CRACK!

I see stars with his next attack. I'm vaguely aware of someone pulling me to my feet, pushing me back onto my bed. My head feels so light, like it's floating on air. My eyes can't focus no matter how hard I try. Someone's trying to climb on top of me and I attempt to fight back.

It's a very meager attempt.

When my eyes finally focus I realize that I'm flat on my back on my bed with Akito kneeling over me, his arms on ether side of my face, his knees on either side of my hips.

"I'll bet you shared her with Momiji tonight. Is that right? Is that why he was asleep before you came home?"

Shit! It's one thing to hurt me. Attack me. Not Momiji. Not him too. He has nothing to do with this.

"We were over at Shigure-sensei's. Watching a movie. He can even confirm it."

"Liar!"

SMACK!

Well, I guess that's the last time I tell him the truth. Not that it would've mattered anyway. True or false, Akito will do whatever he wants.

SMACK!

Whenever he wants.

SMACK!

To whomever he wants.

SMACK!

I think my nose is broken. It hurts to breath, but it's a necessity. My chest heaves as I try to catch my breath. I realize with a hint of distaste that his breathing is as labored as mine. The heat pouring off of him indicates that he's not only enjoying this, he's getting off on it.

Bastard!

"What's her name? Her real name. Tell me!"

And when I don't, he hits me again, pushing me further against the cushion with his knee to my groin. Kami but that hurts!

"Her name! What is it?"

I shake my head, earning another slap and a few punches to the chest. The last one cracked a rib...I think. I can feel pain floating through my body causing all my senses to go nuts. I can't breath through my nose and my lips are almost too swollen to open. Heat, warm and absolutely dreadful courses through me and I can feel every bruise, every potential broken bone.

"Tell me!"

He can beat me all he wants. Do whatever he wishes. Hell, he can even enjoy it! But he will never know her true identity. Never know her real name.

He'll have to kill me first.

~TO BE CONTINUED~