It was one of the few times Ren was feeling bold enough to leave her room. Not that she felt as though she had to stay there, though Akito had ordered it. She didn't care what that brat said, and she rarely ever followed her orders. No, it was just easier to stay in her room to avoid the fuss the maids would make upon seeing her outside her room.

But, today was different. Today, she felt stronger. After all, she did have something on Akito, something to taunt her with, to hopefully break her with. The stupid girl was obviously head over heals for the dog of the zodiac, Shigure. The maids had tried to keep it quiet, their actions together, how often the dog would sneak into Akito's room at night, but she knew. She knew how Akito felt for him, and knew how much this new information would hurt her.

For last night, instead of sneaking into Akito's room, Shigure had come to Ren's room, and it had not been by accident.

She smiled, absentmindedly. It had been so long since she'd been with a man, for she usually couldn't imagine being with anyone other than Akira. But, when Shigure had come to her, she couldn't resist. Not when it could hurt Akito so very much.

Ren stepped outside, onto the porch, the one that overlooked the garden. It was still morning, but the sun was shining brightly all ready. Today was truly a wonderful day.

"What are you doing here?"

Again, Ren smiled. She knew the voice so very well; every mother would recognize the voice of their child. Oh, she could not wait to tell her….

Slowly, she turned around to face Akito. She was glaring at her, dressed in a man's kimono, as usual. Oh, that had been a stroke of brilliance, Ren thought, to insist upon Akito being brought up as a man. She would never fully fit in; she could never be herself entirely.

"You are not allowed here- go back to your room!"

Akito was all ready close to losing control of her emotions, it was easy to see from how wide her eyes were, her clenched fists.

"You seem to be missing your precious doggy," Ren said, keeping a cold smile on her lips. Oh, this was too good….

"Leave!"

Oh, what a brat. She was too used to getting everything her way. But, she could see that her words had effected Akito, however slightly.

"He'll leave you, like they all will," Ren hissed. "None of them will stay-"

"Be quiet!" Akito screamed; Ren was a little surprised. Usually it took longer for her to go into hysterics. "You know nothing of us- they love me!"

"Stupid bitch; they're all ready going, they're straying." Oh, she could barely contain herself. It was all she could do to keep herself from grinning like a maniac. "If they love you so much, they why do they go to others at night?"

Akito seemed to be momentarily at a lost for words. Her face was so red, her lips pursed tightly. "You're lying," she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Where was your mutt last night? Did he spend it with you?" Oh, the expression on her face at the mention of Shigure was priceless; she seemed almost scared. She paused a moment, hearing footsteps coming their way. If she was going to tell the brat what had happened, she would have to do it fast, before she was taken back to her room. "I'll tell you where he was…. Instead of crawling to you, Shigure came to me."

For half a moment, Akito had remained very still, her entire body rigid. And then, she exploded, flying at Ren, screaming at her. "You're lying! You're lying!"

She knocked her to the ground, attacking her in any way possible. Ren was doing all she could to fend her off, but Akito was in such a frenzy, it seemed nothing could keep her away.

"Akito!" she heard someone yell, and then she was being pulled back.

"Let go of me!" Akito screamed. Ren looked up and saw that it was Kureno who had found them, and was trying to contain Akito. "I'll kill you; you're lying! You're lying!"

"Am I?" Ren said, wiping blood from her mouth as she stood up. Kureno was still dragging Akito away, obviously trying to get her into another room. He gave Ren a look that clearly told her to go back to her own room. She merely smirked in return. "Go find that ever faithful dog of yours and ask him. He has strayed, and everyone else will do the same! You are nothing to them, nothing!"

---

Shigure stretched lazily, yawning ever so slightly. It was only an hour or so until noon, but he'd just woken up. It'd been a late night, which was part of the reason why he'd slept so late.

He headed to the front door; he was planning on visiting Hatori or Aaya for a little bit, just to avoid seeing Akito. Usually, he looked forward to a visit from Akito, but not today…. Well, if he was avoiding her, he'd better go to Aaya's; it was no secret that she hated him.

When he slid the door open, Shigure was very shocked to find Akito standing in front of him; it appeared to be as though she was about to open the door. He did a double take; she did not look particularly happy. In fact, she seemed to be very, very angry. Could she have found out all ready? No, it was too soon….

"Akito," he said as calmly as he could. "What're yo-"

She struck him hard across the cheek. Shigure had been caught off guard, hadn't been able to prepare for this sudden blow, and so, it had hurt more than was expected. He touched his cheek and winced; there'd be a bruise there by morning.

"You're disgusting," Akito hissed through her clenched teeth.

Did she know? How could she possibly know?

"Akito, what happened-"

She hit him again. "Don't act like a fool," she snapped. "I know what you did, you- you filthy-"

She did know. But how?

Akito kept on sputtering; oh, he'd never seen her this angry. This was not good. True, he'd meant to make her mad, but not to this extent.

"Akito," Shigure said, hoping to find a way to calm her down. He reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but she jerked back away from him.

"Don't you dare touch me!" She shrieked. "Don't you ever touch me again! You-you slept with-with her! You're disgusting!" She slapped him again. "You filthy dog!"

She paused, taking a breath. And when she spoke again, she spoke slowly, and clearly. "I want you gone. You are never to come back to the Sohma house again."

---

I hope you enjoyed this. There's one more chapter in store, possibly.

Please leave constructive criticisms.