A/N: Hi! This is the first FB fanfic I've ever written. I've worked really hard on it and I think I did pretty well!
My mother has always told me I'm special. I never knew what she meant. I mean, I'm pretty, I'm smart, and I'm kind, but none of that really means much when it comes to special. There are plenty of pretty, smart and kind girls. No big deal.
There was always one thing that puzzled me, though. My parents made sure I never left the house grounds. And all the servants and butlers and stuff were female. Don't get me wrong. I mean I can go to a lot of places within the house grounds, we own a lot of land, and I really like all of the servants and stuff, they're really nice. But I still feel as though they're hiding something from me. They deny it any time I ask, but I know they're lying.
Not only that, but, I've never seen a boy, or any male for that matter, in all of my life, other than my father. That definitely has to be considered as weird. I mean really, what person has never seen a boy? Only a freak with something to hide.
I've never had a reason to leave the house grounds anyway. I have a private tutor to teach me, so school isn't necessary. But this year, I've insisted that I go to a public high school. My parents are dead set against it, but I don't care. If they don't let me go on their own, I'll have to do so my self. And since I watch TV all the time and I watch all of those teen shows, I think I know what it's like out there and the way teens talk and act. I should have no problem out there in the world. I've found a hole in the gate that I can just slip under. I'm the only who knows about this little passage though. It's a good thing when you want to escape.
I've already started making plans. I'm going to bring only a few clothes, some money and maybe a few other things. I'll live out in the woods that surround most of the area for miles. I'll move a good way away from the house and then I'll pitch the tent I'll be using. The money won't last too long, even though I'm only going to buy food and maybe a few essentials. I'm going to have to get a job so I can pay for the expenses, but I don't care. I'll be free to do what I want!
I'm going to head out tomorrow, and I won't chicken out at the last minute because I've been planning this for a long time. When I'm let out after lunch into the grounds, I'll go to my hole and go through. My stuff will already be on the other side. Actually it already is. I've been slowly putting the things under the fence so I can get them when I escape. I'm going to have two hours before they realize that I'm gone. I'm going to need all the sleep I can get, so for now I should sleep.
The sun's bright rays come in through my window and tickle my nose. I sneeze and sit up, wiping my eyes. The sun's too bright! I lower the shade and get out of bed. I'm deciding what I should wear. I mean, today I'm going to run away. I'll choose a nice pair of jeans and a loose shirt. Easy to run in and casual so I won't attract attention. Oh and it is also comfortable and my favorite clothes. I can't run away with out taking my favorite shirt!
I go downstairs to breakfast. I might as well enjoy it because it's the last one I'll have in this lap of luxury. It's actually really good and I can talk to my parents about stuff. I'll give them one last chance to tell me why I've been special, why I've never seen a boy before, you know, clear things up before I leave for good.
" Hey, Mom, Dad?"
" Yes, Sweetie?"
" Why have I never seen any guys, ever? Other than you, of course, Dad."
At that, my parents just look at each other. I can tell they're having trouble trying to find what to say to me. Why do they have to make up elaborate lies? I remember when I first asked them, they said that it was because boys are mean. I said ok, I mean I was like 4. Then when I asked again, they said that boys are only out there to do me harm. That scared me, so I left it alone. When I asked two years ago, they said that I was allergic to boys. That was too hard to believe. I mean, I was like 14 years old at the time. And if I were allergic to boys, wouldn't my dad be a problem. I mean, he's a guy, even though he's older.
So I sit there waiting to see what elaborate lie they'll come up with this time.
" Now that you're 16, Shizuko, we've decided to tell you the truth. I know this may seem hard to believe, but you are under a curse, " my dad begins.
" And it's not only you, Sweetie. It's also most of the Sohma Family," my mom adds. So? What about this curse, huh?
"And this curse would have to do with me never meeting a boy in my life, why? " I ask. I'm a little more than suspicious. I mean really, a curse has to do with me and never meeting a boy, how?
" Well, the thing about this curse is, when the people under the curse are hugged by someone of the opposite gender, they transform into animals from the Chinese Zodiac."
Whoa, what? An animal of the Chinese Zodiac? What does that mean? And how can that possibly be true? Me, turn into an animal? Really, like that could happen.
I don't give my parents any time to explain. I look at my watch. Wow, it's ten-twenty seven already? I need to go to my tutoring session now.
" I'm sorry, but could your explanation wait until after lunch? I need to go to my tutoring session. You know how Ms. Matsu gets when I'm late. See you after lunch!" I say to them as I get up and go to my tutoring session with the tutor from hell. She's so strict about my work; it's not even funny! I get settled just in time, because she walks in just then.
"Good Morning, Ms. Matsu!" I say as she has instructed to me.
"Good Morning, Ms. Sohma. Today we will have a review of everything we've gone over so far in your reading and your algebra."
" Yes, Ms. Matsu" I answer automatically.
So we go over the first ten chapters of this book she's making me read called "The truth behind the legend: Where and why these stories originated." It's about the stories we hear all the time and where they came from and why they were made that way. My favorite is the one about the Chinese Zodiac animals. It always gave a feeling of happiness and dread, but I never knew why. Now that story my parents told me doesn't seem so strange.
We finish going over where and why the stories happened, and now it's time for algebra. I go through that pretty quickly, because I'm really good in math, advanced, even!
" I see you have been paying attention very well, Ms. Sohma." Like I have anything else to pay attention to. Tutoring is over, unless she has something else to torture me with. I guess not because she dismisses me. I don't have to worry about facing my parents for a while, since, even though it's lunchtime now, they talk to Ms. Matsu to see how I'm doing. I never let them down, so I don't really care.
I go down to the dining room where I find a delicious looking spread. I'll miss this food, but, hey, freedom comes with a price. I eat quickly so I can go out to the yard and escape. I think I'll take some of this food with me. I slip as much as possible into my napkin, which is quite a lot, and I go out side. I make sure none of the servants or gardeners are out and I run to my passageway out of here.
I push the food under the gate onto the other side and then slip under myself. I hope no one sees me like this! I go over everything. Hey, I don't want to miss anything when I'm leaving home. I can't come back. Let's see, my book bag filled with clothes and things like my hairbrush, accessories, my favorite little bag, you know, the essentials. I make sure the food is wrapped tightly and place it in my bag. I have my tent all wrapped up and raring to go. I attach the tent to my bag and put my bag on my back. Okay, I'm set.
I stand up, surprised by how light my bag is. I may not look it or seem like the type, but after lunch, I usually took martial arts. My parents thought the exercise was good for me. I'm used to lifting much heavier things. That's also why I have about two hours before anyone realizes I'm missing. My martial arts class doesn't start until about an hour after I come in from the garden. I start to run from the hole in the gate. When they realize I'm missing, I want to be as far away as possible. I go really fast, faster than I thought I could go. Then again, I never actually had plenty of room to run and I didn't have a purpose. In about 5 minutes, I've run a mile. Wow, better than most professionals! That's creepy. I realize I'm not that tired. I mean how could I be if I just ran like that? I keep going.
The wind in my face and hair, the feeling of not having to stop for anything, not having to go back to being in a cage, it's like heaven. I knew this would be great for me, I just never thought I'd love it so much! Before I knew it, I had cleared the woods. Wait, what? I cleared the woods? But they're supposed to go for about 10 miles in each direction! Had I found another clearing? No, I see a street up ahead. Whoa. I actually ran 10 miles in about 15 minutes! I'm sacred now. No one can run that fast!
Finally, out into the world! It's been begging me to come and explore it! I can't believe that after all this time, I'm going to actually see a guy other than my dad! I head for the street, I mean, that's where people are. I see figures in the distance. I didn't let the excitement take control. I have way good self-control. I get there in about 10 minutes, walking like a normal human.
I can't believe I'm going to meet a real guy! I mean, it's not like I've never seen what a boy looks like. My dad has plenty of photo albums. I've look through them and seen my dad and his friends as kids. I've also seen pictures of my entire family before my parents moved me away from the world. I've lived out of captivity for about 3 years.
Sometimes I have a glimpse of memory and see people. I can't make out their faces anymore, but I could tell it was my family. But I do remember one face a little clearly. I've seen his picture in the album and I've asked my dad who that person was and he says that his name is Yuki. Yeah, my only good memory from that time was of a boy. I wonder if my dad knew. If he did, he wouldn't be too happy because he's trying to keep all boys away from me. Also, there's TV. Just because I've been in captivity doesn't mean I'm not a teen. I watch TV all the time!
So, anyway, I'm now walking around. I see a lot of boys. It's so strange. The streets are cluttered with boys, girls, women and men. It's so strange to see so many males at once. It's a little shocking for me, who has only seen pictures and shows with boys. I walk towards a bench that's out on the street. I sit down and see that a lot of boys are staring at me. Huh? Why? Are my clothes really that strange? I've tried to dress casually, but I guess not casually enough. I see some girls are staring at me too. Why? My clothes must be really weird if they're staring.
I'm trying to ignore them, so I'm just going to walk away. I'm starting to walk away. I see that most of the kids are wearing uniforms. I guess school just got out. They're still staring at me. Why? I see this one boy smiling at me. I smile back. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do, because now he's coming over.
" Hey, do you know that you're beautiful? My friends and I were just talking about how there are no pretty girls anymore and then we saw you. You sure as hell changed our minds," he says to me. What is he talking about? Am I really that pretty? I wouldn't know. I always thought I was pretty, but beautiful?
" Uh…um…thanks, I guess." I have no idea what to say! I just got out into the world that has guys and then one comes up to me telling me that I'm beautiful? I'm so lost here. What am I supposed to say? I said thanks, but he's not leaving. I try to walk away.
"Hey, where are you going? I just want to talk." Why doesn't he leave? I don't want to talk to him. I want to be left alone! I want to find a place for me to live!
" Um…excuse me, but if you don't mind, I'd like to be left alone. I have some things to do." He just smiles at me. Um…I think this is what my parents were trying to protect me from! He won't leave me alone. His friends are coming. There are 3 of them. I want to be left alone! Is that too much to ask!?!
" Hey, guys, check this out. She asked politely to be left alone. Not often ya see a girl who's polite and beautiful!" All of his friends smile at me. I'm serious, if they don't leave me alone, I'm gonna have to kick their butts! But right now, I'm too creeped out to do anything, so I shut my eyes really tight.
"Look, that poor girl is getting cornered by those guys!" I hear a girl from not too far away say.
"Let me handle this," I hear a boy respond to her. Someone's going to help me? This outside world really is weird. I hear footsteps coming closer. Please let this person who's helping me be nice. The next second I hear the sounds of the guys who were bothering me getting beat up. I hear their footsteps as though they were running.
I finally open my eyes and see the girl to whom I think the voice belongs to standing next to me.
"Are you okay? Did those guys hurt you?" She asks. She is so nice. See what I mean when I say that there are plenty of kind people in this world.
" Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for your help though. I was kinda scared and I wasn't sure what to do." I'm looking at the guy who had beaten up the boys who were bothering me. He is just standing there, where he had been when he took care of those guys. What strikes me as strange is his orange hair. It is as orange as mine and it doesn't look dyed. My hair is orange naturally, as is, I can tell, his. Then I see something that almost makes my heart stop.
There, standing behind the girl who helped me, there is no mistaking it, is Yuki, the boy from my past. I can't help but stand there staring. I mean, how can I not when he is the only boy, no wait, person, I could remember. The girl seems to notice this.
"Oh, That's Yuki Sohma-kun." I knew it. It is Yuki, and he's my cousin. I always knew it, and now here is standing my cousin. I didn't think I would run into anyone from my family here.
"I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm Tohru Honda. And that," she says pointing to the guy who beat up the guys who had bothered me, " is Kyo Sohma-kun. And who might you be?" That means the guy who helped me is a cousin too. I am too stunned to say anything. No wonder, I just met two of my cousins just by coming to a city near my family's forest.
"Um… miss? Are you okay?" Tohru sincerely looks concerned. I still can't talk. I just nod. She then turned to Yuki, who has come to stand next to her.
" Sohma-kun, I think she's sick or something. She's not talking. Maybe we should take her to Shigure-san's house. She really doesn't seem well." She's really worried. Yuki just nods.
"Yeah, your right, she doesn't look good. Come on, you stupid cat, we need to get back home!" Yuki-kun yells at Kyo-kun.
"Yeah, yeah whatever." He says back. " Damn rat," He mutters under his breath. Rat? Cat? What's going on?
Anyway, Tohru starts to lead me away from where I am. I guess she's taking me to Shigure-san's house. Who ever he is. I suddenly realize I've seen pictures of Kyo, too, as a little kid. I'm starting to get excited. Maybe I might see someone else I recognize!
Soon enough, we arrive at a house, which I assume, must belong to Shigure-san. Tohru goes in first, dragging me along, then Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun, who call out that they're home. I can't believe that I'm in the outside world, in a house with three other guys. Not something my dad would approve of, but he's not here right now, is he?
Tohru takes me into what seems to be the living room and makes me sit down.
"Let me get you some water. You must be thirsty!" She says so sweetly and then goes to get it. I can't believe I'm in a house other than my own! It's all so strange to me! I need to make sure I'm not dreaming, so I pinch myself. Ow! Not only did that hurt, but now my arm is bleeding a little. But how? I look at my nails and they're not long at all. Tohru comes back with my water. I smile at her and drink it. I still think I'm too stunned to talk, but I need to be nice. After I finish drinking my water, another person comes in. I look up and see a man. Wait…I recognize him from the photo album!
"You're in the photo album!" I say, standing up and pointing at him. Before I had said anything, I don't think he knew I was there. He stares at me. I guess I must have scared him a little. Tohru also looks a bit flustered.
" I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I just-I just…." I couldn't finish my sentence because at that moment, everything went black.
I can feel myself waking up. I open my eyes and blink them a few times. I can see four fuzzy figures standing over me. My eyes begin to adjust and now I can make out the figures. I see Tohru and Yuki-kun on my left and Kyo-kun and the man on my right. I hear murmuring above me.
" She really is a pretty girl," the man says. Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun attack him. I sit up slowly.
"Oh! Are you okay?" Tohru asks.
"Uh…uh huh. I'm feeling better." I feel groggy. I still can't see straight. Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun stop beating up the man and come back to see how I am. Whoa, rush of dizziness. I shake my head to try to clear the fuzziness.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Tohru asks.
"I'm sure. Thanks for helping me, too. I don't know where I would be without your help," I say with a small smile. She smiles back. "I'm sorry about what happened back there. It's just, well…I recognized that guy from a photo album my dad has. I just kind of, well, you know, freaked out. I'm really sorry." I shake my head, feeling bad.
" No, it's okay. You don't have to be sorry. But why was Shigure in your father's photo album?" Yuki-kun asked.
"Well, it's not just Shigure-san. You and Kyo-kun are also in the photo album," I reply. Shigure-san, Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun look at each other. I know what they're all thinking: Why are we in her father's photo album?
"Why are our pictures in that photo album?" Kyo-kun asks. I knew someone was going to ask.
" Well, it's a photo album that has pictures of my family." Hey, it's the truth.
"Your family album?" Shigure-san asks.
"Uh huh," I nod.
" Then that means you're a Sohma!" Tohru exclaims.
" Um, yeah. I'm a Sohma…" What's the big deal? Yeah I'm a Sohma, so?
"Are you part of the Zodiac too?" Tohru asks. Zodiac? That's what my parents were saying! My eyes widen. Is what my parents said true? Can I possibly be an animal from the Zodiac?
" Well, I'm under the curse. Is that what you mean?" Seriously, I have no clue! What's going on? Am I really an animal?
"Uh huh. What animal are you?" She asks. I am an animal! This is unbelievable!
"I'm not sure…" What animal am I? What animal should I be? Tohru looks puzzled.
" How can you not know?"
" Look, I didn't even know of this curse before this morning! I have no idea what animal I am!" Now everyone's staring at me.
" Are you serious?! Haven't you ever transformed?!" Kyo-kun asks.
" Uh…no…never."
" How come?"
" Well, I guess it's because I've never been hugged by anyone other than my parents."
" You've never even bumped into a guy?!?"
" No. I've never really seen a real guy until today."
" WHAT!?! Where the hell have you been?!?"
" In captivity…" I grumble. This is getting strange…really strange.
" Um…what do you mean 'in captivity?' Um…uh…wait. I never got your name!" Tohru says.
" Huh? Oh! I'm so sorry. That's so rude of me! I'm Shizuko Sohma." I forgot to introduce myself?! What's wrong with me?
" Hm…Shizuko. That sounds familiar. Wait! Are you the daughter of Keiji and Amaya Sohma?" Shigure-san asks.
" Huh? Yeah, that's my mom and dad. Why?"
" Because I remember that they had a daughter named Shizuko. They said they were going to try to keep their daughter safe from outside world."
" Really? So she really has never seen a guy before."
" Well, I have, but just family pictures and TV. And I do have memories from before I was put in captivity." Wow, I can't believe I'm learning more about myself just sitting here than I ever have talking to my parents. This is so strange.
" And I know what animal you are!" Shigure-san announces. I can't believe it! I can find out what animal I am without having to hug anyone! This is great!
" So? What animal am I?" I ask, a little excited.
" You are…"
A/N: Dun dun dun!!! What animal could she be? Is there another reason why she was put in captivity? Find out next chapter! And I won't post that until I get 5 reviews! So, click the little "go" button and you're part of the way there!!!