"We're going to move on with the procession. Are you ready?" One of the funeral attendants spoke.
Fifteen year old Anzu stood in the doorway of a local funeral home. Outside of the shaded glass, she could see the crowd of paparazzi eagerly waiting with their cameras and microphones. After word had gotten out about her existence, she didn't have to hide behind hoodies anymore, but that just made everything more of a reality. The actual funeral was quick and private as her mother didn't specify any death wishes.
"You should put this hat on." Anzu's housekeeper pulled her away from the door and fixed her hair before shading her face with the stiff fabric. "You don't have to say anything when we leave if you don't want to. I'll stay by your side the entire time."
"Alright sweetheart, so here's the plan. There's a car on the street that will take us to the grave site." Sango's assistant approached Anzu. "Your name to the public is Maya. No tears for the pictures and keep your head down. I already have security out there, but this is just a photo op. We'll have plenty of time for interviews later."
Looking away from her, Anzu glanced back at the growing crowd. All of this was going too fast for her and the emerging argument between the housekeeper and assistant just like in the hospital wasn't helping. Soon enough, it was time to go and the funeral attendants brought out the huge picture frame of her mother and the gilded silver chest that contained her cremated remains. Immediately heading over to them, Anzu held her hands out.
"Please let me hold my mom."
The attendants, assuming she meant the frame, were going to hand it over, but the crimsonette adamantly refused and told them she wanted the box. The assistant overheard this and immediately stopped her conversation with the housekeeper.
"No, no, honey. You need to hold the picture frame for the cameras. Leave that to the professionals. If you'd just-" She tried to pull the young redhead along, but Anzu immediately snatched her wrist out of the older woman's grasp.
"I want to hold my mother."
She had a clear resolve and it was evident that the conversation wasn't going to go any further. The housekeeper intervened and helped Anzu with the box despite the assistant's clear lack of understanding. Finally, they were ready to face the public.
° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °
Anzu quickly ran through the streets of the city, being sure not to stop until she knew Machi wasn't following her. Her body felt jittery like she'd had too much coffee and she struggled to catch her breath. Her surroundings felt semi-familiar as she thought she knew where she was, but she may have been turned around. As much as she thought she was okay, it felt like no matter what direction she faced, she was going to be entering that hospital. Finally stopping, Anzu found herself by the river side and collapsed on the grassy hillside. Images of the hospital slowly dissipated from her mind and she felt like she could breathe a little bit.
Kureno was in the hospital and she wasn't sure how to feel. How could she go see him when he could end up like her mother? On the other hand, how would she know that? He promised her that he would try not to put her in that situation. Covering her eyes with her arms, she tried fervently to focus on anything else but what was going on.
"Anzu, is that you?"
Tilting her head back, the crimsonette locked eyes with Arisa. The wind immediately started to blow and Anzu finally realized that the only things she had on were her nightgown and her sneakers.
"That's a pretty interesting outfit for the morning." Arisa commented as she slowly came to join her. Sitting down next to her, she looked out at the reflection of the clouds on top of the water. "You got a lot on your mind or something?"
Anzu pulled her knees to her chest and blew out a long breath of air. "It's like when everything gets better, it just gets worse. I'm just really confused right now."
Looking towards her, the blond leaned back onto her palms. "Why don't you tell me about it?"
The redhead hesitated for a moment. Arisa deserved to know that Kureno was in the hospital given her relationship with him, but Anzu was worried that if she started talking, she'd just word vomit everything. While she contemplated back and forth in her head, Arisa took off her jacket and draped it across the younger girl's shoulders. She had on a long sleeve shirt so she'd be okay without it.
As the two sat together, Anzu gave up and immediately started confessing everything - from Kureno's current state to the revelation of her mother's death to her fear of hospitals. It was nerve-racking to say the least, but it surprisingly made her feel less anxious after letting everything go.
"That's some tough shit - excuse my language." Arisa let out a sigh. She was quite shocked to find out Kureno was in the hospital, but she knew she needed to focus on the girl beside her right now. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that. It really does suck when things happen to the people closest to you. Especially when you know they don't deserve it."
"I promise you, I want to go see him and make sure he's okay. I just... can't."
Anzu couldn't stand to lift her head up from the ball she'd curled into. Those words were her true feelings but they were easier said than done. It felt like she was running away from everything but what else could she do? She wasn't in the right headspace to see her uncle and she didn't feel like anything she did could actually help him.
"Let's do this instead. I'll go visit him first and, if everything's okay, you have to come with me the next time."
The crimsonette's head immediately popped up in shock. "You would do that for me?"
"Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet." Arisa shrugged. "Doesn't make it any less scary, but having a trustworthy person can help ease the jitters."
"Arisa!"
"Anzu!"
The two females looked back to see Saki and Machi standing on the sidewalk by the hillside. Saki's face looked very worried, whereas Machi's was on the side of relief. Immediately, Arisa stood up and brushed the loose grass off of her butt.
"What's wrong?" She asked her friend.
"It's Tohru..." Saki shook her head solemnly. "She's in the hospital."
Anzu's eyes widened in shock as she slowly stood up as well. "Toh-"
"You should go home." Arisa interrupted her. She didn't even look in her direction, but instead turned her attention to Machi. "You're her friend, right? She needs to go home and get some rest. Don't let her go anywhere 'cause I'm going to come see her later."
Machi was startled but quietly nodded in agreement with the instructions. With her confirmation, Arisa and Saki quickly left. The ashenette immediately walked over to Anzu to help her up the hillside and fully put on Arisa's coat. She could tell Anzu was still processing everything, so she decided to keep quiet and walk with her.
"This is all my fault." Anzu murmured to herself. Akito was right. If she hadn't suggested for her to confront the root of the problem, no one would've been hurt. She didn't deserve to go visit Kureno or Tohru as she assumed everything had to be connected.
"What did you say?" Machi asked.
"Nothing." Anzu shook her head.
The two went back to Machi's house to retrieve her things, then went to Anzu's apartment. As they stepped in, the atmosphere was still homey, yet it was lacking. Machi tried her best to cheer the redhead up by turning on some movies, eating snacks with her, and having a makeshift fashion show with her new clothes. She was able to make her smile and laugh, but she could tell the female was still upset.
As Anzu left to take a shower, Machi was going to clean up the piles of clothes, however she was interrupted by a knock on the door. After looking through the peephole, she let in Momiji and debriefed them on everything going on before handing him Anzu's phone. Unfortunately she wasn't going to be able to stay since her brother had been blowing her phone up, so she quickly told her best friend goodbye and left.
"Lola, how are you feeling?" Momiji asked after Anzu walked into the common area. Since it was just the two of them in the apartment, the crimsonette wasted no time in running into his arms and burying her head into his chest. Although she ended up transforming, Momiji held onto her as she sobbed all afternoon.
° ∆ -------- ••• ------- ∆ °
The sounds of machines beeping flooded Kureno's ears as he opened his eyes and looked up at the dull, white ceiling. He was no longer in pain, but he was sure it was only because of the medication he'd received. Arisa had just left after coming to visit him for the fourth time so far, although he wasn't sure how she found out he was here. Apparently Tohru also ended up with his same fate, so he assumed that she may have run into one of his family members.
He'd been in here for almost a week and a half, but it was very unsettling. All he could think about was Anzu. He was aware of his niece's situation with hospitals, but since he was now in charge of her wellbeing, he wasn't sure how she was doing. She wouldn't answer the phone when he called, so he had to depend on Hatori for updates. Every time the nurse came in to check on him, he only asked one question - when would he be allowed to leave?
There were a couple soft knocks on the door before it slid open. To Kureno's surprise, Akito slowly stepped into the room. He could tell that she wasn't alone as he could partially see Shigure beyond the door, but the male didn't come in and shut the door behind her.
"Um... how are you feeling?" Akito approached the bed awkwardly with a somber expression.
"Stuck." Kureno answered honestly. He wasn't allowed to stand up on his own yet until his surgical wound healed so he was confined to bed rest for now.
"That makes sense..." She dug her nails into her palms. "Kureno... I-I'm really sorry for what I did to you. Not just this but... everything over the years."
The male watched as she crouched down next to his bedside and her eyes welled up with tears. It had been a while since he'd seen so much genuine emotion out of her. She repeated her apology over and over again until he placed his hand on the top of her head and gave her a gentle pat.
"I know, Akito, so you can stop apologizing." Kureno spoke up. He already knew her heart inside and out. "I forgive you, but you know this is only the tip of the iceberg, right? I heard about Tohru and the day I came to see you, I went to the Cat's room first and had Rin taken to the hospital."
Akito lifted her head with wide eyes as she listened to his words. "How did you know Rin was there?"
"Anzu found her first."
Akito stood up, biting her finger nail as she went into deep thought. When did Anzu find out? Was she going to say anything? How was she going to approach her? Her mind was reeling at the thought of having to confront the redhead after everything she'd done. Previously she probably wouldn't have thought so much on the subject, but Anzu had come to her as a friend.
"Have you talked to her?" Kureno interrupted her. "She probably-"
"I'm going to break the curse." Akito suddenly spoke up to change the conversation. "That's the only way I can fix the root of the problem. It's the only way I can make things right."
"You're just going to break all of your connections, just like that?"
"They're all breaking anyway. It's better to do this than to drag it out."
"And what do you think is going to happen to you?"
Akito looked back at him and sent him a sad smile. "I'll be alone."
"You won't-"
There were a couple knocks on the door, which interrupted their conversation. Once Kureno answered for them to come in, the door opened and Arisa walked in first followed by a very hesitant Anzu and a distant, but supportive Momiji. The male was very surprised at the sight and sat up a little too quickly, causing him to wince in pain and lay back against the elevated bed head. Akito immediately backed away from the bed.
The room was silent as everyone waited for someone to make the first move. Finally, Anzu took a deep breath and let go of Arisa's hand before approaching Kureno's bedside. She looked terrified to say the least, but he could tell she was fighting a huge battle in her head. Kureno quickly took her hand in his, fearful that she'd make a second opinion and leave. Giving it a reassuring squeeze, he smiled as he looked at her.
"Thank you for coming to visit me, Anzu."
"...I'm sorry." The crimsonette covered her eyes with her free arm as tears spilled over her cheeks. "This was all my fault. If I hadn't said what I said-"
"Why are you blaming yourself for what I did?" Akito spoke up.
Anzu's eyes widened as she quickly turned around to face where the voice was coming from. She'd had so much tunnel vision that she didn't even see Akito was in the room. Tension filled the air as emotions flooded Anzu's mind. Her chest was starting to feel tight, but it was different from before when she was scared of what Akito would do. Quite frankly, she was starting to see red.
"Why are you even here?" The younger female spit out, causing Akito to step back in surprise. "You just don't know when to stop, do you? Haven't you caused enough pain already?"
"I know I was wrong." Akito answered her. "I'm trying to fix everything now. If you would just listen to me-"
"Why would I even do that?"
"You said that you would listen to me if I needed to tell you something." Akito frowned. "You said you wanted to be friends and, as your friend, I'm trying to apologize. I had a gathering yesterday at the estate, but I wanted to speak to you separately. Out of everyone that I needed to see, I was the most scared to talk to you. It was because you were so genuine with me."
The crimsonette watched her, but her heart was already hardened. This wasn't the place to talk if Akito wanted to get through to her. "Well, let's make this clear then. We aren't friends and I don't want your apology. I want nothing more than for you to disappear. This is me being genuine."
"Anzu.." Kureno squeezed her hand again, but she paid him no mind.
"You have every right to be upset with me." Akito recoiled with hurt. "It wasn't anything I didn't expect."
Momiji stepped forward as he could see Anzu was nearly shaking. Taking Akito's hand, he led her out of the room to speak to her so Anzu could cool off. Arisa, wanting to give her and Kureno some space, left to go make sure Tohru was ready to be discharged today. The room was quiet as Anzu stared into the space where Akito once was. Her mind was clouded with judgment and it was justified, but why did she feel like she was in agony?
"This is Akito's fault." Kureno's voice made her jump out of her thoughts. Turning towards him, she blinked in confusion as she wanted to make sure she heard him correctly.
"What?"
"I remember when we were eating dinner together that one time." He sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. "It wasn't the best memory, but I distinctly have a recollection of you saying 'why can't you say Akito, you're wrong'. I've been thinking about that ever since I woke up here."
"Kureno..."
The male shrugged and turned his head to look at her. "What you said was a wake up call for me. None of this was your fault, Anzu. Akito made her own choices and she's facing the consequences for them with more to come."
"Then why am I still hurting?" She asked as she wiped her eyes. "I hate her and everything she's done, but I still want her to be better. I want her to give me a reason to believe in her."
"It's because of your bond."
"The curse?"
"The bond you created with her."
Anzu sat down in the chair beside his bed as she thought about what he was saying. There was a difference, wasn't there? The Zodiac curse seemed to pale in comparison to the amount of time she'd spent talking to, arguing with, sharing snacks with, crying with, and in silence with Akito. She had genuinely hated her, but she had also genuinely tried to get to know her and care for her. The current incident was unfortunate, but - when thinking of Akito's past actions - it wasn't completely left field. Anzu had taken the slow approach to changing Akito and it was working, but the sudden, inevitable changes had broken all of that.
"Right now, I wish I hadn't gotten so close." She pulled her knees to her chest and laid her head next to Kureno's hand on the bed.
"That's understandable." Kureno nodded. "Did you think I was going to tell you to forgive her?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Anzu rolled her eyes. "Because that's the type of person you are. You and Tohru are literally the same person. She's probably forgiving her as we speak."
Letting out a small chuckle, he affectionately pet the top of her head. "You're allowed to take all the time you need, but you should at least hear her out with a sincere heart before you make your decision. Therefore, you won't have any regrets. I feel like that's the best guidance I can give you in place of your parents."
The two sat in each other's company throughout the rest of the morning. At some point, Anzu had fallen asleep as she was exhausted from all of the emotional stimulation. In her dreams, she could see all of her friends materializing around her in the dark. Even her parents had appeared for some reason and she tried to stay in their warm embrace as long as possible. Suddenly, everyone looked out in the distance and when Anzu turned in that direction, she was met with the image of Akito standing by herself.
Anzu stepped away from everyone else and towards Akito. There was a reddish-brown rope that tied the two female's wrists together. As Anzu's eyes traveled down the rope, she could see the frayed middle that was literally holding on by a thread. Akito smiled before a pair of scissors materialized in her hand and she held the rope between the blades.
"Wait!" The crimsonette called out to her, but it was too late.
Suddenly, Anzu woke up from her slumber and scanned her surroundings. The sun was starting to set outside the window and Kureno was still asleep in the bed. The room felt colder than usual and she felt quite numb. She wanted to cry but she didn't have any tears left; she felt sick to her stomach, but there was nothing to throw up. Letting go of Kureno's hand, she stood up and walked over to the window. Anzu couldn't quite describe it, but she felt different.