Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, or any of the wonderful characters ;_;
Chapter 1
* White Black and Red *
The white dove flapped away from the window, scuffing its wings up against the glass as if to say 'goodbye' to the young man who was enviously staring at it. He decided to go back to his previous task of shuffling papers on his already neat and tidy desk. Spotless, completely spotless. Everything was a spotless white-as if expressing himself through color or decoration was forbidden. He didn't know which color he hated most, a completely blank white, or a totally pitch black.
Empty amethyst eyes scanned the room for a clock, still not used to the new college dorm room. A plain clock on the space above the door told him that it was time to try and get some sleep. With one final tap of the papers to the desk, the silver headed man stood up - stiff from sitting for so long - pushed in his office chair and took two steps to his bedside. After contemplating that it was unnecessary to get into proper night clothes, he lifted the thin covers and slipped underneath them, turning off the lamp as he made the best of the uncomfortable bed.
He laid there, staring at the bottom of the vacant upper bunk. He could never decide whether he wanted to fall fast asleep, or stay in the safety of consciousness. Closing his eyes could bring the dreams that he had forgotten four years ago, or it could put him in the depths of his darkest memories. Most of the time he would sleep dreamlessly, as if his mind was trying to protect itself from unwanted images, but every now and then he would be haunted by a fleeting memory. He decided that he would take the chance and rest, so hesitantly closing his eyelids he relaxed his sore muscles and whispered the same prayer he repeated for the past four years.
I hope she's happy.
His back leaned against the corner of a cold wall - a cruelly familiar wall. A room with no warmth, a room with no light. A room that could either be filled with silence or with the screams of his own voice. It's the room that held nothing but him and a tool used to discipline...for now.
He was all too familiar with the anxious fear that rose within him as he stared in the direction of where he assumed would be door. He waited for the silence to end, and he waited for a peek of the outside light to reveal another little boy. He waited for that tool to be taken off the shelf nearby. He did the best he could to brace himself.
But nobody came...nobody opened the door...
He was alone. Completely and utterly alone. He wondered when he would be able to see the light again. If he would be able to see the light again. He wanted to feel warmth. Warmth from somebody he loved...someone that cared about him as well...
Suddenly a small little light flickered from the end of the room. He watched, curiously and almost fearfully. He peered closer to see a little flame settled on the wick of a candle. He was about to stand up and go towards it, but the movement was unnecessary as the little light came closer to him on its own.
Sitting right in front of the boy, the little flame multiplied into four more identical flames. They then joined and meshed into one small little fire-one that you might see in a homey fireplace. The little boy watched in amazement as the light started to dance.
Suddenly it took on the form of a rabbit, and it hopped around some until it morphed into a tiger. The tiger pranced around until it became a sheep. It then turned into a horse, which trotted into a pig. The pig became a chicken, and then turned into a dog. After a few wags of its tail it became a monkey. The monkey hopped around until the fire crackled and popped into a dragon. It then morphed into a snake that slithered about the flames until it grew into a cat. After a few seconds of the fire-cat attempting to scratch the boy, it vanished. The flames danced around until the image of a small little rat was apparent.
Out of all the animals the fire danced to, the rat scared him most. Even the fire-cat that tried to claw at him couldn't compare to the cold and empty feeling the boy felt when seeing the rat. He wrapped his arms around his knees and bowed his head so that he could shield himself from the taunting fire.
Yet...the fire seemed warm. It crackled and popped louder, as if trying to catch the boy's attention. He peered above his crossed arms to see that the rat in the fire had not disappeared, but instead was being held by a pair of hands.
Curious, he unfolded his arms and watched as the hands grew into arms, and arms that revealed the figure of a girl. Was it him or did it just get warmer? The girl took the rat close to her and began to dance a beautiful friendly dance.
The boy watched the girl, with a smile hinting at the corner of his lips. Somehow this fire-girl filled him with joy. He felt as if all of his burdens were lifted off him. But...that didn't seem to be enough, for he felt terribly lonely. He reached out to the fire, yearning to touch the girl, but he pulled back in fear he'd get burned. So he had to be satisfied with just watching. Watching, hoping the girl might notice him.
After a while of being entranced by the fire-girl's dance, the boy was forced to turn his eyes towards the door as the outside light - the light he did NOT want to see - seeped into the room for a split second, revealing the figure of a small boy. The boy entering the room closed the door, and there was silence.
He couldn't hear the other boy, or his footsteps. He wondered if he was moving at all. He was scared. Scared as to what would happen to him. But he was more concerned for the fire-girl...he didn't want her to go away. He stood up, prepared to take the other side to defend the fire - he didn't know why, but he just had to. He couldn't let anyone snuff out this fire.
He slowly walked in front of the fire, and held out his arms with determination. He could hear a sharp but quiet chuckle from the end of the room.
You really think you can protect something, how precious.
Suddenly, the boy gasped as a cold hand on his shoulder and fingernails that dug into his skin forced him to fall to the ground with a push. The boy screamed as a liquid splashed onto the fire-girl and she disappeared into the once again pitch black. The boy scrambled over to where she danced last, with tears in his eyes. It was cold again.
And wet.
With water? He couldn't tell. He placed his hand onto the wet floor and tried to figure out what the liquid was. It certainly didn't smell like water. In fact it smelled like...
His thoughts were interrupted as the familiar creak from the door warned him of the outside light. Quickly he looked down at his hand.
No, this isn't water. Because water isn't red.
"She's never coming back, Yuki," a cold and heartless voice followed by a chuckle came from the other end of the room.
The door closed and the boy was left to his thoughts in the darkness.
Author's notes:
Well, there it is! The first chapter to my first fanfiction uploaded here on fanfiction .net! I would really appreciate any reviews or criticisms, I'd love to improve my writing so you guys don't have to put up with anything too terrible XD Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!