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[Akkii]

Despite the fact that spring was slowly but surely nearing as day after agonizing day wore on, the weather was bitter cold today. Akito hadn't braved the outside for weeks, unwilling to allow herself the fresh air and the views of the city, or even her garden. This was for two reasons. First off, she was often marked with wine-colored bruises. Second, she was filled with so much guilt, she just couldn't face the outside world. Not after what she had done. Four years after she had demanded Devon to leave, and now she was pregnant with a second child--Kaiser's child. In only about another month it would be born, and her abdomen was large and round, while the rest of her body l looked gaunt and terribly frail--and worse than it had in a long time. 

Now, though, akito yearned for the fresh air, to be able to wander. It was what she wanted more than anyhing at that moment. Well, that wasn't exactly what she wanted most. What she wanted most--or who, rather--was Devon. 
She knew that that was impossible though. 
Currently, akito wore a long-sleeved gray shirt, black slacks, and ebony flats. Her hair, which she was forced to grow long, and flowed past the middle of her back, simply down. It glistened like oil on pavement in the pale light of th late winter sun, just like her mother's. 

Akito was meandering along a street lined with stores, restaurants, and other buildings when she saw the person she had least expected to see first thing she noticed was the strong build. Then the platinum blond hair that looked colorless as his skin in this light. It was rather fortunate the skies were clouded today. 
Akito watched him as he walked ahead of her. Not thinking about what it was she was doing, Akito broke into an awkward, tiring half-run, caught up to him, and seized his shoulder, gasping heavily, trying to regain her breath as she uttered his name in shock.      

[Platinum]

Devon wasn't sure what to think when he was all of a sudden grabbed by some stranger. The scent, though comprimised and hidden by the scent of others, was more then just a little familar to the man, he tried to tell himself that it was the lady's perfume, it had to have been, because he had accepted that on the day that he had left, he would never know that scent again.

But fate must be on his side. That, or against him.

When Devon turned and pulled away from the woman, he grew silent. What was there to say? This was Akito Sohma, standing infront him, looking shocked but there was nothing to say. Akito had kicked him out years ago, he assumed that she did not wish to speak with him so he had never returned to the Sohma Residence, he made sure that he stayed far away from those Sohma's, but he found that he couldn't leave Japan. He had told himself it was because that the weather was nice here, and it was easy to get a job without anyone asking questions but he really knew why he never left, and that is because of... well, I think you know, dear reader.

So when the man gazed down upon the pregnant woman, searching his brain for something to say so that he didn't have to continue staring at her like a fish out of water, he said the thing that was most obvious. Now, you might believe that would be 'Hello, Akito.' But this is Democritis we are talking about, he has never been accused of being overly sensitive to others or very smart.
"... You're pregnant."

((...Ugh...))

[Akkii]

[Haha, I like Demo's reaction. xD]

After he’d pulled away, Akito let her hand settle back at her side. The other one rested on her stomach, where she could feel the child moving a bit. She bit her lip at a sudden kick, squeezing her eyes shut before opening them again. She couldn’t quite meet Devon’s gaze.
”I am,” she said. Her face was red, and her dark teal orbs held shame. As always, they stormed with emotion like a violent ocean. ”I… I’m bearing Kaiser’s child.” Her lip trembled. Her hair was in her face, and if one were to pay attention they’d easily notice the badly-concealed bruise below her right eye. It had changed from a deep purple to a yellowish color, with some gray. There were much worse bruises, but they were hidden by her clothes, luckily.

Akito chewed on her lip again, attempting at stopping its irritating trembling. She met Devon’s eyes now, after she’d blinked away some tears that had sprung unexpectedly into her gaze.
”I didn’t want it to happen,” she added quietly, absently fingering the ring that sat on her finger. She pulled it off and examined it. Every inch of her being wanted to throw it into a nearby gutter, but she managed to refrain. Instead, the hand holding the ring—her entrapment—clenched into a fist. She looked away from him again. He had probably caught the guilt swimming in her eyes.

After the silence between them became too heavy for her to bear, Akito sighed heavily, sliding the ring back on her hand and sliding both hands into her pockets.
”So, have you been in Japan this whole time?” she asked quietly. ”In Tokyo?”
To think he’d been here this whole time, and she’d never even caught a glimpse of him. It made her hurt to think about it. She longed to have Devon hold her.
She wished he could see their baby. So far, the child hadn’t been touched by Kaiser. Akito intended to keep it that way. She didn’t need her daughter to be any more traumatized than knowing that Akito was constantly beaten by Kaiser must make her.
Akito though Mary was the most amazing, beautiful child she had ever seen. What with Devon’s platinum hair, and his slight amount of freckles carelessly dotting her skin, combined with her deep teal eyes, she was beyond adorable.

[Ugh. Fail.]

[Platinum]

((Pshaw. Don't even say that.))

"Well, no, I thought it was the mailman's." Devon replied to her first comment, his voice laced with sarcasm, of course it was Kaiser's, he wasn't stupid. He now knew the other scent on Akito, something like the ocean, and hay, it reminded Devon of the Grecian country side, and he now identified it as the monster's stench. It wasn’t really overpowering, but it was enough to make him sick to his stomach, he would never again enjoy the smells of the ocean and Greece, because he would always be reminded of the dark haired man who took everything he ever wanted and loved away from him, Rhea and Akito were just a few examples of the things Dev on had fought for only to have them snatched away by the vampire’s granite grasp.

Devon caught the slight trembling of her thin, pale lips and he almost panicked right there in the street, his thoughts bouncing around his head and racing around in wild circles like clowns in cars at the circus.
Oh… oh shit, her lip is trembling PLEASE say that she is not going to cry if she cries… But could think of no way to comfort this woman who he had cut off all contact with years before, she was a stranger to him, a complete and utter stranger, any displays of affection would not be proper. Devon was glad when Akito began to talk again, at least it avoided something incredibly awkward…
“Yeah, had nowhere else to go, really.” Devon said with a shrug, Akito could make of it what she wished; Devon would stick to his story. Really, where could he go? As stated before, he did not want to leave Japan because of the pulling force that he felt here, he was so connected, and as one of the shifters of Washington would say, he felt connected to the Earth here. He believed that he had once heard Crystal use that term before ‘connected to the Earth.’ She had said everything was connected to the Earth, and from dirt everything was born, breathed into life by the Great Spirit and when he die, to the dirt we would return, and though the saying still made no sense to the Catholic man- he would never understand the ways of the Native Americans, he mused, simply because he saw it all as so animalistic, no pun intended-but he could possibly wrap his mind around the fact that he was connected to the Earth here, because the only family that he possessed wad here, Rhea, Akito, his daughter.

Now Democritis thought about his daughter. How old would she be, now? He wondered if she aged fasted then the average human, or maybe because Akito was still alive she was just like a human baby, he wondered what she looked like as well, he had not seen her since she was small enough to hold in one of his hands, and he had no pictures and he now wished he knew what she looked like, taking a glimpse of his daughter was the only thing he wanted to do now.
He continued to answer Akito’s question now.

“Well, I haven’t stayed in Tokyo,” He said, before continuing, “I’ve been quite a few places, but I’ve stayed here in Japan.” He did not tell her it was because he couldn’t leave.

((This is fail.))

[Akkii]

[Oh, it is so not. XD]

Akito’s gaze darkened suddenly at Devon’s sarcastic tone. She did not need that right now. Not from him. She already had to deal with Kaiser, she didn’t want to deal with sarcasm. Especially not from Devon, of all people. Her fists were clenched again, almost tightly enough to draw blood with her sharp nails, but not quite, thank goodness. Though, she knew that Devon probably wouldn’t lose control that easily. Her teeth ground together slightly, but she ended up not retorting—something that might surprise Devon. No, he had every reason to use that tone with her. She hadn’t exactly said she didn’t want him around anymore, hadn’t been that hurtful. But she had told him that if he was around, she would only get hurt worse, and the baby might too. With that, she’d told him to leave.
Okay, so maybe that was more hurtful than just saying she didn’t want him around anymore. But at least their baby hadn’t even been touched by Kaiser. Yet.

She looked away, falling deep into a reverie of her own. Thanks to Kaiser, this is what it had come down to. She was pregnant with a child that she wasn’t sure she could love. Ever. Not when it would probably look like Kaiser. Not to mention he’d forced her into it, raped her, hurt her all over in the process, and left her alone in the bed the next morning, sobbing and aching all over.
She’d cried so loudly, and no servants had even bothered to come in and check on her, like they normally would have.

She stood here in front of Devon now. She hadn’t seen him for four years, but it felt like so much longer. She knew she definitely looked different, especially with the long hair.

”Devon,” she said quietly, looking up at him, anger gone now. ”I figure you’d like to know that the baby—Mary… she looks, and acts, so much like you. She… she’s four now. And she’s safe. Kaiser hasn’t hurt her—hasn’t even made the attempt to touch her. She’s completely safe. He may be able to do whatever he wants with me, but Mary won’t be harmed by him.” She dug in her pocket for her wallet and pulled it out, opening it, pulling out a picture of Mary that was taken a month ago. She was grinning, knees pulled up to her chest, arms around her legs, wearing jeans, little black shoes, and a flowery pink shirt. Her platinum hair rolled down her back and spilled over her shoulders in gentle waves. Despite her light hair, her eyelashes were dark, and already incredibly long, casting shadows on her cheeks. Her eyes were large and a stormy teal, alight with cheer.
”This was taken a little while ago. She grows a little bit every week or so—not as fast as Bella’s and Edward’s girl, but she’s still different from a normal kid.” she smiled a little, offering the picture of Devon. It would be his to keep.
She wondered if maybe now she could leave. It’s not as if she was needed anymore. She could run home, take Mary, and leave with Devon.
Would he want to, though? She ached to ask, but was afraid of the answer.

[No. This is fail. xD Maybe Kaiser could cut in. But only if you want him to. If you have some other idea, go right ahead. XD]

[Platinum]

Devon took the small picture in his hands, examining it closely. Her face was probably more shaped like Rhea’s, and her hair was the same texture. She had the same eye color as Akito, and on further inspection noticed that she had the slightest powdering of freckles, another trait that she shared with Rhea. He handed the picture back to Akito, unaware that she wanted him to keep it.
“That’s good that Kaiser hasn’t hurt her.” He said to Akito, keeping his voice at a strait monotone, no longer looking at the small photograph.
She has your eyes… He wanted to say, but could not find the gumption to say so to the woman.

“Are you planning on entering her into a school once her growth evens out? If so, I want to help pay for expenses and such, make sure that she goes to a good school, too. And I’ll start saving up for a college fund, too.” He said, though he began to get a little bit carried away so he stopped himself so that he didn’t go on, there was really no need too, he figured. Akito might say no, she did say that she didn’t want him around anymore.
I want to see here. His voice echoed around in his head, but still could not find his missing courage, it seemed to be on a hiatus at this time of all moments. I want to be with the both of you. Devon felt the urge to sigh but did not and shifted his eyes downward.
“Rhea’s been doing well.” He said awkwardly. “She’s still a bit broken up about the whole things and worries about you constantly, but she didn’t seem all that surprised. Probably because she had already seen it coming.” Devon said, now shifting his gaze on a small plant that was pushing it’s way through a crack in the sidewalk. How could plants be so strong? It really was mindboggling at times, like how do giant chunks of metal fly or float? What makes gravity work? Why are the sky blue-oh wait, that’s because of particles, never mind… but why do those particles exist? Would everything be invisible without them? Devon then realized that he was getting off track and focused himself at the topic on hand. Rhea. But Devon found that it was difficult to talk to his little sister any longer, so just remained silent.

((How can my posts not be fail, and yours are when all of yours are longer then mine? And better written? XD))

[Akkii]

Akito smiled sadly when Devon tried to hand the picture back to her. Instead of taking it back, she grabbed his ice cold hand and made sure it closed around the picture without wrinkling or bending it.
”You’re keeping that,” she murmured.

The young woman listened to him, smiling a little bit, although it didn’t touch her eyes at all.
”I think I probably will, if she wants to. By then she’ll probably be mature enough mentally to decide for herself. She can already read novels.” She was obviously proud of their daughter. ”And… I’m glad you want to help.”
I’m glad you don’t hate me… she thought to herself.

She folded her arms in front of her chest
”T-tell Rhea I’m sorry, then.” Akito had never meant to hurt anyone. All she had was good intentions. She just wanted her baby to live a live without any abuse. She wished she’d been able to send Mary with Devon. Akito would have preferred it that way.
”Mary asks so many questions about you. She says she has dreams about you. I’m thinking she has some sort of ability to see visions of some sort in her sleep.”
What a special baby, Akito thought, similarly to the way her father had thought about her when she was little. But, unlike her father, she wouldn’t push Mary to do something impossible or lie and say she would never be hurt.

[Fail. xD This one really sucks. Don’t say it doesn’t fail. Maybe you could bring Kaiser in?]

[Platinum]

((Yeah... in a post or so, I have to think...))

Devon smiled again, the slightest twitch at the corners of his mouth as he peered down at the picture of the little girl again. His little girl... she was growing up fast.

Devon nodded with mild interest as Akito spoke, murmuring here and there. "It's fine." And, "I will." as well as, "Really? What do you tell her?" He perked up even more when she spoke of this ability of Mary's.
"That's interesting, it's very similar to Rhea's." Which it was, by a single touch, Rhea could peer into the soul of the preternatural and the humans, quite useful at times, but that also made it near impossible to trick her.

[Akkii]

[Mmkay. Just giving ideas. ]

Akito was glad that Devon looked happy. She bit her lip and held in a whimper as the baby kicked. Kaiser’s child… a shudder ran down her spine. It was a little frightening.
Okay, truth be told, it terrified her. What if it killed her this time? Mary had somehow taken more human traits than she had vampire traits, although her growth was still excellerated, but she didn’t know if this child would also do that.

She smiled a little at Devon’s question.
”I tell her that you are a kind person, a good man. I’ve given her a few pictures of you, too. I figure she should have more images of her father than what she sees in her… visions.” Then she added, ”It is, isn’t it? She must have gotten that from her.”

She glanced down—she would have been staring at her feet, but her pregnant abdomen prevented it. Her eyes widened as she thought of something, and she looked at Devon.
”Maybe… I could go get her? She’d love to meet you.” She didn’t think about what would happen if Kaiser found out. She didn’t want to think about getting caught, getting hurt again.

[Finally posted! ]