AN: Hey everyone!
It's been a while since I've written for Fruits basket, I'm happy to be doing so. The reason Basket of Memories had been holding up is because I lost the files for the first few stories I was planning to post up, so now I have to re-write all them. It won't be much longer though, I promise :)
This is a oneshot birthday gift for zyeIN, an awesome friend, a fantastic artist and one of my deviantART buddies *hugs* Happy birthday!
Disclaimer: I own this phone, this laptop, this world globe, this black nail polish, this room, everything in this room and copies of 'Death Note' volumes 1 and 2 downstairs, Natsuki Takaya owns Fruits Basket and it's characters.
Locked up in Nightmares
The rain fell relentlessly, the lightning flashed through the sky and the thunder clapped in the distance. The dark grey clouds were not needed to darken the night sky they were floating under. They were not wanted. They were unforgiving and unstoppable.
A fact which made him shiver.
He slowly sat up from his collapsed state. What little light had come through the clouds from the moon entered his hellish room through the thick, metal bars. The sound of rain and thunder irritated him to no end.
Even nature itself was against him.
It was as if they had teamed up with the person who was responsible from putting him in here.
In which case, both of them were treating him mercilessly.
His skin was dry and had cuts, blisters and bruises trailing across mostly his arms, legs and feet. His fingers were almost boney, barely having enough strength to even curl up. His hair has grown out and was a mess with dirt trapped in between the strands, making it look as though the orange colour was fading. His lips were cracked and dry from a lack of water. His eyes were the most dramatic change. The red in them was different. It was no longer the red of fire and hope, it was dully and the fire had been put out.
No longer did he have any hope.
No longer did he have freedom.
No longer did he have her.
His eyes widened at that thought. He had been in here for weeks now and he had forced himself to not think about her. He knew if he didn't he wouldn't care if they had dumped him in this godforsaken room. Now though…
…he had a reason to be out of her.
That reason…was waiting for him. She was, wasn't she? She hadn't given hope up on him, had she? How long has he really been in here? Had it been years? Surely if he had been gone that long he she wouldn't have given up hope on him…Maybe it just wasn't her.
Everyone…had abandoned him.
No one came to visit him, because he was disgusting.
He was hideous.
He was…the cat.
Who would want to waste their hopes on the cat?
Something stung his eyes, a sensation he hadn't felt for years. Why was his vision becoming blurry? Something cold and heavy coursed through him. It had been a long time but he finally remembered this feeling…this feeling of sadness. This feeling of….
…loneliness…
Without thinking he got to his feet, his whole body hunched over due to the rain. His cracked lips parted as he inhaled the air around him.
"L…Let me…go," he said weakly, his voice cracking from the sadness.
He raised his head. His eyes, behind the tears that fell from them, showed a renewed determination. He clenched his fists as he screamed to the whole world "Let me go! Set…Set me FREE!"
Thunder echoed off in the distance, as if answering him a defiant 'no'. As if responding to the answer nature had given him, he collapsed back to his knees, a sudden surge of weakness clouding his mind.
A small cloud of dust exploded around him as his whole body collapsed back onto the ground.
His limbs became cold and numb.
His mind was blank.
His eyes went from being wide to half-lidded.
He realized what was happening and became fearful. They were letting him go…but not in the way he wanted. He realized that the only way he would ever be set free…was if he died.
That what he was doing right now…
…He was dying.
…Her face flashed before him. In his deafened ears he heard her voice, laughing cheerfully.
"Kyo…welcome home!" she called out to him.
Two small feet stood before him, a metre away from his head. His eyes at first didn't register that there was someone right in front of him. Once they did he fully opened them and looked up to the person. It was her. Tohru… She was smiling at him. "Kyo…I…really like you…"
Even more fear entered him.
"I only wish that…I could have spent more time before this day had come…" Her smile turned into a sad, pitiful one. "I…I only wish…you were here with me…right now."
He desperately reached out to her. He was fearful to the point where he couldn't hold himself together for much longer. He realized that this fear was due to…the fact he could live without her. He couldn't live in a world without Tohru. The very thought frightened him. She had become his soul reason for existing. A world without her…was nothing!
"TOHRU!"
He shot up.
His mind was whirling, causing his blurred vision to swirl around him.
His heart pounded against his chest.
His throat felt raw.
Sweat formed on his forehead and arms.
He heard a loud yelp from somewhere around him.
He panted and gasped for air…
He blinked and rubbed his eyes trying to clear his vision. As he did this, realization dawned on him. He was only dreaming…Thank goodness! Relief soothed the panic and fearfulness in his system. Everything around him was dark, but he could make out the outlines. He pulled his hands away from his eyes and looked around his room. He was sure he heard someone yelp before…
He nearly jumped when he saw the outline of someone far from him.
However, he recognized the silhouette after a moment. He frowned in the confusion, but yet some much more relief filled him. It made him realize he really was dreaming before.
"K-Kyo," she spoke up "I, um, eh…I heard you outside i-in the hallway. Are you…okay?"
A flash of lightning lightened the room for the briefest second. He saw her concerned face before the room plunged into darkness again. His eyes were better adapting to the darkness. His eyes traveled to his window, where he was buckets of rain pouring heavily and flashed of lightening in the distance. A loud rumble of thunder followed each lightning strike.
He heard Tohru slowly approach him. He made no move to stop her or to get her out of his room. He didn't want her to leave. Not now…
"What are you…doing up?" he asked shakily. His voice was raspy and low.
He heard a small 'thud' as she knelt next to him. He was able to see her concerned face as she spoke "I couldn't sleep with the storm around. It frightens me a bit, and it…Never mind, I', sorry for coming into your room, but you sounded like you were in pain. Are you okay? Is something the matter? Was it a bad dream? I-'ll listen if you want to tell me-!"
Before he realized what he was doing, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his shaken being.
Poof!
Orange smoke filled the room. Tohru fell back, managing to put her hand behind herself to catch her balance. In her lap was the orange cat, his limbs sprawled out and his head turned to the side.
"I…I don't want…I wanna to talk about the dream," he said, not caring that he was letting out is emotions "Can I just…It's nothing, 'kay? I always…act like this when I have this nightmare…" He trailed off, bringing his limbs in.
Unknowingly, Tohru began to gentle stroke his fur. She smiles at how soft the fur felt against her fingertips. She felt Kyo move in closer to her as she continued to pet him. Normally he probably would have told her to stop and move away form her.
Tohru looked on in confusion. What was going on? He seemed upset. He must have had a terrible nightmare. She could only imagine…what have made him scream in his sleep. She heard from her room. She heard him screaming out. She came walking cautiously down the hallway to his room. By the time she had reached his door his screaming had stopped. Her feeling of concern only intensified. She slowly slide the door open and quietly whispered his name. Lightening struck against the sky and for a prolonged second she saw his sleeping for. She rushed over to him, almost panicking as he restless tossed turned.
The sheets were kicked away from his futon.
Sweat cover his body.
He was panting and gasping.
His thrashing was becoming more violent.
And yet…he was asleep.
So many thoughts were running through her head. Should she wake him up What if she did? What would he do? But then other thoughts clouded her mind. Before she could go deeper into the thoughts, his eyes snapped open wide and he lunged forward. She was so shocked she almost tripped as she stumbled backwards and yelped.
And now the thoughts from before woke plagued her mind again. At that time she realized what if…he had these nightmares before? Was she asleep when he was like this? The thought frightened her. He might have been suffering this nightmare for a long time. This nightmare clearly haunted him. He seemed so frightened and scared, almost like a child…
However that wasn't what haunted her the most. What troubled her was…
…that maybe, all this time, he had been…
…alone…
This nightmare…he probably told no one about it. It seemed that, for all his life, he was alone. She never heard about his parents, apart from the day she asked about his mother. She didn't anything must about his father. And, being the cat, he was an immediate outcast. He was set to be locked away from the outside world.
She shivered at the thought of him leaving.
She shivered at thought of his being locked away.
"Kyo," she said quietly but with reassurance "…You're not alone…I will…stay by your side for as long as I can. Please believe me…this is one of my greatest wishes."
She didn't receive a response. She looked down at Kyo, seeing he was asleep. Over the rain she heard his purring softly. She smiled. Maybe now he could sleep without the nightmares. She brought up her hand to cover her mouth as she yawned. She was starting to feel tired too. She wanted to get back to her room, but it wasn't the fact that a cat was sleeping in her lap. It was because she felt she wanted to stay in his room. She felt safe in here, even though the storm was still present and seemed a lot louder in here.
Slowly and carefully, Tohru lowered herself to the ground and gently pulled the cat off her lap. She reached down pulled covers over herself the cat, who was now snuggling into her shoulder as she positioned him there. The girl placed a hand on the back of the cat and closed her eyes. She felt the sleep tug her in, the sounds of the storm outside fading away.
Somehow, this felt safe and comforting. She felt as though no one would ever hurt her again, that this was her haven.
This was there little piece of heaven…
…and no nightmares could lock it away.
I think I'll write a squeal piece to this. It'll probably have a lot humour in it though XD Also, I might move this piece to Basket of Memories when I start it.
Well hope you liked this. Sorry for the OOCness ^^;
Comments and reviews are greatly appreciated! :D
Thank again, and happy birthday zyeIN! 3
Keep writing!
-Warrayfinson