Hey, guys! This is my first story, and I'd REALLY appreciate some reviews. But no flames. I appreciate constructive criticism, NOT flames. I hope this plot isn't too confusing. . . .

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket or any of the characters in this story except for Minoru. Duh. This is a Fruits Basket fan-fiction, right?

That Numb Feeling

My eyes opened quietly, but not without effort, my every muscle working to execute the small movement. I saw a dark, open room, with plain, light-colored walls and a long expanse of polished floor.

It took me a minute to realize that my posture was unusual, sprawled on the floor with my cheek pressing against the gleaming wood, strands of ruby-red hair flowing over my face, giving the room a peculiar reddish tint. I attempted to hoist myself up into a more suitable position.

I felt it, the vibrations on the floor, before I heard it: the sound of hushed conversation, then the thumping of feet on floor as several people left the room.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position. I felt light-headed and nauseous, felt the sudden coldness come through the open door of the room. But it was odd, physically I could feel every pain, every comfort, but mentally I couldn't feel. I couldn't think. My mind was numb. That's why it didn't register to me that there were two other people in the room with me.

One man, looking around in his mid-twenties, stepped in front of me. I wasn't surprised or startled—it didn't mean anything to me.

He had black hair, some of it sweeping over one of his eyes, which both stared back at me with a careful, cold expression that made no sense to me, which wasn't surprising, as nothing did. He wore a white coat, which I took to establish that he was a doctor.

"Minoru," he said, quietly and calmly, and with a spark of recognition, I knew that Minoru was my name. "Do you know who I am?"

At the sound of his voice, something tugged at my memory, a dull, irritating feeling that broke me from my numb spell, almost too small to feel. Still, his question baffled me. I couldn't find any words to say, and I felt too nauseous to speak anyway. I shook my head.

The doctor's expression went from careful to a mixture of relieved and another expression that I couldn't understand. The next person to speak was the other stranger in the room.

"That's good, Hatori. She doesn't seem to remember anything." The voice was silky smooth, and as the stranger revealed himself, I realized by his attire and black hair falling into his eyes that he was another man, young, but one that spoke with more authority than the doctor.

"Escort her home," he ordered the doctor, whom I assumed was this Hatori, a smug and somehow devious smile twisting his handsome facial features.

"Yes, Akito," the quiet doctor replied. I stood and followed him out of the room, feeling no curiosity at all of the situation.

Shigure's house was quiet and dark, no occupants present. Sohma Shigure and his cousin, Sohma Yuki, stood outside the door. Both were silent as Shigure unlocked the door and flicked on the light.

They walked into the threshold of the house, still in an uncomfortable silence. Shigure tried to break the tension with some light banter.

"So, Yuki-kun, how about we have some take-out for dinner?"

"I'm not hungry," Yuki scoffed, but sat down at the table in the kitchen nonetheless. Then Shigure had an idea, a wicked idea that he knew would push his younger cousin's uptight buttons.

"So, I wonder where Kyo-kun is now, huh?" He said, feigning curiosity. He peeked at Yuki. "Probably halfway across the country. Maybe he'll train to be stronger than you again, Yuki-kun."

Yuki stood up. "I hope he's in hell," he hissed, and trudged upstairs to his room. Shigure heard a door slam.

Shigure suddenly felt guilty, which was unusual for him. He sighed.

Sorry, Yuki-kun.

Sohma Momiji knocked on the door to Hatori's house impatiently. Hatori, despite the late hour and the ever-constant risk that the guest was Shigure or Sohma Ayame, opened the door to see the little blonde teenager, who ran inside the house, not needing an invitation.

"Hari! Where's Minoru-chan? How is she? Is she okay?!" the blonde said anxiously. Hatori sighed. It was too late for all of this commotion.

"She'll be fine, Momiji."

"'Will be?' How is she right now, Hari?!"

Hatori sighed again. "You know it takes a while Momiji. It'll take a few weeks before she's completely okay. Like your mother." Hatori felt a tiny stab of guilt when he saw a small uncomfortable reaction in Momiji when he mentioned the boy's mother. but after a second, the hyper, anxious Momiji returned.

"I'm gonna go see her!"

"Momiji," Hatori said, more serious now. "You know no one can visit her. Her memories aren't buried deep. They might resurface if she sees any of the Sohmas." Momiji tried to be rebellious.

"But Hari--"

"Yuki can't see her, either. "In fact, he had to transfer middle schools. Do you know how much harder this must be for him? And Kyo ran away from Sohma house again. We may not see him for a few months. It's healthier for her if she doesn't remember us."

"But maybe," Momiji started, "after a while, she'd be okay knowing Kyo's secret. Maybe she'd stop being depressed after a while."

"It might not work like that. She was really depressed, and it wasn't healthy." Hatori convieniently forgot to mention that Momiji's mother couldn't get over the depression until her memories were erased.

Momiji bit his lip and changed the subject. "So Yuki's going to 9th grade somewhere else?"

"Yuki's trying to be mature about this. He knows that this is better for Minoru."

"Yeah. . . ." Momiji said. "I'm gonna be mature about it, too. I wanna help, too. But can I still watch over her? Like mom? To see if she's okay?"

Hatori didn't say anything for a while, but then replied, "Sure, Momiji."

'Kay, that's all. Sorry it was short. I'll try to make chapter 2 longer.

(Japanese middle schools go up to 9th grade, unlike western middle schools.)