Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.

Me: Yay, new Furuba fic by me! I was just struck with this brilliant idea all of a sudden.

Tohru: (reads fic) Why did you make me so mean? (Sad eyes)

Me: Ah, it can't be helped. This is a darker one. But things will get better… maybe…

Tohru: (cries) MAYBE?

Me: (Evil grin)

Tohru ran from the house, her bare feet being cut and scraped with every step, and her shirt torn, skirt floating around her. The pain of fourteen people mingled, with her own, in her heart. Tears ran from her cheeks as she ran into an alley, falling painfully onto the ground, sobs choking out of her throat. At least… at least Kyo-kun and the others will be free… free from their curse…even if they don't remember me anymore… She thought bitterly as she hugged her bare knees to her chest, shivering.

A figure knelt beside her, and an arm wrapped around her. "Why are you crying, little girl?" A feminine voice asked.

Tohru shook her head, indicating that she would rather not answer.

"Honda, is your name?" The voice asked. When Tohru nodded, the older girl smiled. "The daughter of the Red Butterfly, I'm honored. I ask of you, fight me."

Tohru looked up sharply, meeting the gaze of the girl. "But… why?"

"Because I would like to test you to see if you are worthy of becoming part of our gang, the last descendants of those who served the Red Butterfly."

"You are the descendants of those in my mother's gang…?"

"Yes, you are like our sister. I don't expect you to defeat me, but if you can hold your own, we will take you in as our own and care for you."

Tohru looked up at her with awe. She never thought being in a gang was a good thing, but they seemed like kind people. What other choice did she have anyway? Ever since she broke the curse, the Sohmas all lost their memories of her, and everyone lost their memory of her associating with them. Only she was left with the burden of the truth of what happened that night. She stood up and looked the girl straight on. "Fine."

At first, Tohru half-heartedly threw punches and got knocked around. But suddenly, something snapped in her. An unfamiliar flame burned in Tohru's eyes, and the training she had taken from Kyo mixed with her pain and created something she had never known before. Anger and hate. She gave out a few heavy blows, one to her face, one to her stomach, and a hard kick at her shins, sending her to the ground. Rage surged through her as she kicked the girl again and again until she could barely move. Tohru ceased. "Well?"

The girl gave her a weak smile. "You are stronger than I had expected. And thus, with great pride I give you the title of our gang leader. What is your name, girl?"

"That's not of importance anymore. From now on, I will be known as the Pink Butterfly." Tohru looked at the girl with eyes empty of emotion.

The girl scoffed. "The Pink Butterfly? That doesn't sound very intimidating. It sounds downright bright and cheerful."

"I come from my father, plain and white, and my mother, the Red Butterfly. Together they are pink. And let me warn you: the creature of the brightest color holds a poison of the deadliest."

The girl smirked. "I like the way you think. So, Honda, I dub you, The Pink Butterfly, leader of the Red Butterfly Gang!"

Tohru nodded, and left her past behind. She was not the same person any longer, and never would be again.

Thunder crashed through the hospital room as Tohru kneeled at the bedside of her grandfather, who looked at her weakly.

"Tohru…" he said, his voice barely a whisper. "…I know… things have been rough for you since you came back to live with us. I don't know what happened… but… I hope someday you can forget your pain."

Tohru clutched her grandfather's hand, tears stinging her eyes. She didn't cry anymore, though. Since that night two years ago, things had changed. She had switched schools to avoid the Sohmas and her friends, Hanajima and Uotani, whom she hadn't seen since. She wore long skirts, heavy eyeliner, and a mask over her face. She constantly got in trouble, and was the most feared gang leader in the city. She did everything possible to cover her pain.

"Tohru… I just ask one last thing from you. Please… continue going to school for your mother, and maybe someday, you will come to your senses like she did…" Her grandfather's eyes closed, and the beeping of the monitor switched to one last hollow sound that echoed through the room.

Tohru placed his hand on his chest, covered him with his sheet, and left before the doctors and nurses could come rushing in.

She returned home to have her things stuffed in bags and thrown in her face. "Leave." Her aunt said coldly.

Tohru picked up her bags and glared at her aunt.

"We're disowning you. You are nothing but trouble and dirt soiling the Honda name. The only reason we let you stay this long is because of you grandfather. But now that he's gone, we're done. We want you to leave, and never return to us again."

"Fine. I have no desire to live with you dogs anyway." Tohru spat, and left, slamming the door behind her.

She thought of what she would do next, now that she had no place to turn. She could live in a tent, as she once had before. No doubt they would stop paying her tuition. That wasn't a problem, though. She had a job. She could pay for herself. She could live on her own. She didn't need anyone else.

Her thoughts were interrupted by hacking coughs. Her coughs. She coughed and coughed until she fell to the ground and leaned against the brick wall of a building, bags falling from her grasp as she covered her mouth. She was getting sick… this was not the time for this…

She glared up at the passerby that gave her strange looks. Nobody bothered to stop to help her, though. In this world, nobody cared. She pulled her jacket closer to her body, shivering. It was her favorite jacket—black with a hot pink butterfly on the back. On one sleeve it said "The Pink Butterfly" and on the other it read, "The creature of the brightest color carries the deadliest poison". It could have been that jacket that was scaring the people off, or maybe it was the hostile looks she was giving them.

"Honda-san?"

Tohru lifted her angry eyes up to a silver-haired boy her age, looking down at her, bewildered. It was Yuki. "What do you want?" She growled, though inside, she was delighted to see him after two years. He looked older, and held even a stronger resemblance to Ayame.

"We were classmates a couple of years ago huh? You just disappeared. Wow… you've changed…" He studied her, barely recognizing her for the same, cheerful girl who had gone to her school, although most of his memories of her were blurred. She seemed like more than just an old classmate… but Yuki couldn't remember where she had seen her otherwise. He scowled a bit, but then shrugged it off. He looked at her bags. "Did you… run away?"

"No, I got disowned." She muttered darkly. "You got a problem with that?" She would have glared at him, but instead went into a coughing fit.

He shook his head. "No. But you seem to be sick. You'll need a place to stay, huh? You could come stay with my cousins, and me if you wanted."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" She demanded bitterly. "What did I ever do for you?"

Yuki paused before answering. "I don't know… but I feel like I should help you."

Tohru stopped and looked away. She didn't want to get lost in their world again. It would be too painful to see them again. Especially Kyo… "Well, I don't want to go with you." She said stubbornly.

Yuki sighed. He picked up her bags and wrapped his hand around her wrist. "That's too bad. You're coming with me. You're not well, I can't just leave you here."

Tohru struggled, but her health left her too weak to protest. As she followed helplessly, Yuki took her down the road she knew too well. Soon, they were turning down the path that led to Shigure's house. Tohru once again tried to run away, but his grip was too strong for her to squirm out of.

Finally, they walked in through the doorway and took off their shoes. "Shigure!" Yuki called out. "I think we're hosting a new guest in the house!"

Tohru drank in the warmth of the familiar surroundings. Looking around, she realized that it was messier than she had left it, and knew that they had let it go again. Shigure came walking into the living room, and she almost smiled at the sight of the kimono-wearing pervert. She wondered what dirty novels he was writing in his room.

"AHH! A young high school girl, what a pleasant surprise!" Shigure sang. "I'm Sohma Shigure, how do you do?"

When Tohru didn't answer, Yuki spoke up. "Shigure, this is Honda Tohru-san."

"Hmm, Tohru-kun!" Shigure pondered that name. "Sounds familiar, huh?"

"OI! What's going on down there?" Thumping of footsteps down the stairs were heard and an orange-haired boy walked in, a scowl on his face.

Tohru almost cried when he saw him. Kyo.

"Yuki, who's this chick you picked up?" Kyo asked.

"This is Tohru-kun!" Shigure answered.

"Tohru, huh?" Kyo scratched his head. "Sounds sort of familiar."

"That's what I just said!" Shigure answered.

Kyo shrugged. "Whatever. Just watch out for Shigure, Tohru. He's a PERVERT."

"KYOOOO, you're so mean!" Shigure whined.

Kyo stalked off, and Yuki sighed and turned to Tohru.

"Don't mind him. That was my idiot cousin, Kyo."

"I know…" Tohru whispered. Suddenly taken over with emotion, Tohru's vision spun and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

Me: YAY! First chapter done! (Grin) MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW!

Kyo: Why is Tohru a DELINQUENT?

Me: I don't know. Tohru's nice-ness just annoyed me, so I decided to change it up a bit. But I really don't know how the curse was broken in this one…

Kyo: You're a disgrace to all the authors on this site.

Me: I'LL THINK OF IT EVENTUALLY!