Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to Fruits Basket or Kyou. :(

Sohma Kyou gazed at the misty fog settling over the empty street as if nothing else in the world seemed to matter. The autumn cold had melted away when his panicked frenzy had stepped off to the sidelines. He supposed that in a way he was ready to admit that he'd be spending the rest of his days alone. The cherry blossom trees were void of any flowers and the barrenness of the Sohma house made the goose bumps on his tan skin rise without fail. Akito's wrath had chased any happiness from the passages of the Sohma complex long ago but somehow losing his mother had been that final push into the darkness.

Far off in the back verandas somewhere with the shoji doors to the balconies wide open, Kyou heard the voices of his family mourning the death of his mother. His time at the funeral had been horrid and although Kazuma-sama had been decent enough to offer him a place to stay, Kyou knew he couldn't abandon his father at the worst time of the man's life.

Sighing quietly, Kyou recalled his father's anger at his wife's passing away. Kyou had been one blow short of ending up at Hatori's for the weekend. Even now, the throbbing in his arm and bruises around his neck told his story. Unfortunately, there was no one around to listen to the sad tale.

Wandering through the numerous houses grouped into a small city within the seemingly inescapable walls of the Sohma house, Kyou settled by his favorite drooping tree in a small clearing he'd stumbled upon in his younger days.

As the sun fell beyond the horizon, and the evening dimmed to the blackest night of the year, Kyou heard his time alone come to an end with the echo of his father's strong step.

"I'm leaving," he heard the voice say somewhat impatiently. Kyou scrambled to follow immediately, not bothering to wipe off the wetness of the grass or the leaves from the seat of his pants. Despite his shivering, Kyou didn't appear to see the point in attempting to wipe off the water that had already seeped through to chill his skin. Before he was even up, his father was already walking away. With the death of Kyou's mother, the point of the cursed child had really been driven home for the majority of the resident Sohmas. But it had been Akito's executive decision to suggest, not subtly, that father and son move out of the main house. The only other alternative had been that Kyou get sent away if his father wanted to remain with the rest of the Sohmas. Kyou was determined to be nothing but bad luck.

It had been almost two days since they'd arrived in their new home, and Kyou's father had said not a single word to his son. Finally, the small boy of barely 4 timidly approached his father in his study. Standing silently at the door with his heart beating away frantically as he wrung his hands anxiously, Kyou hoped his father would notice him. But despite his erratic breathing and constant fidgeting, his father was none the wiser. So Kyou, losing the staring game with the back of his father's chair knocked softly on the doorframe.

Startled, his father spun around with an expression so livid, Kyou's hammering heart skipped a few beats.

"What do you want?" the man demanded of his son. Kyou started and his gaze dropped to the now fascinating tiles on the floor. His fear building, his voice refused to obey. What the boy wanted to ask was something along the lines of 'Do you still want me?' or 'Are you going to leave too?'

but all that the child could come up with was,

"A-Are you m-mad at me?" The tremor in his voice and the hesitant tone set his father on edge. The man stood up, suddenly angered by his son's presence. Ever since Kyou's birth, Katsuhiro had stayed away from his son. The boy always gave him the creeps with his unnatural eyes and hair. Besides, the child was cursed and had brought nothing but bad luck ever since his first appearance into the world. Even now, that small, simple question in his son's grating voice made his blood boil. So as any mature man would do, he struck out.

Without thinking, Katsuhiro's hand connected with his son's face with such force that it sent the boy flying into the hallway paneling. Kyou was too shocked to cry as he apologized softly without really understanding what crime he'd committed. The stinging in Katsuhiro's hand, meanwhile, engulfed the man with the sudden urge to wash it immediately. He'd touched the cursed child!

Carefully picking himself up as the hallway became void of his father's presence, Kyou stepped outside, a heavy feeling making his chest compress painfully. Without even knowing it, as it became harder and harder to breathe, Kyou began to cry. Softly and quietly with such gentle sobs did he cry. Afraid of going back inside and terrified of leaving his yard, Kyou sat down in the grass hoping the horrible feeling of loneliness would dissipate.

Time passed, the evening got colder and his hunger grew but the loneliness would not go away. Not knowing where to go or what to do, Kyou let his tears blur his vision as it lightened the burdened of his young heart. Nothing short of bawling would lessen the grief or the pain that overshadowed his diminishing childlike innocence.

Let me know what you think :) R&R!