A/N: I know I'm supposed to be working on Vengeful
A/N: I know I'm supposed to be working on Vengeful. Shut up. Ryuuzan is not a name—it means "failure" or "miscarriage", so don't use it unless you're making severely hated characters, or it won't make sense. I added a really crazy teacher for the hell of it—Mayu is just the homeroom teacher.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, property of Natsuki Takaya.
Summary: There is an unknown member of the zodiac, the most important of all. She is the bond of the curse, and she holds the zodiac together. The Sohma family detests her, but Honda Tohru has always been forgiving. But will she be able to handle it after she learns more than she bargained for about the curse? What have the Sohma been hiding?
Warnings: This story contains a great amount of blood and gore. If you cannot handle this, please don't read it. Contains manga spoilers—including the big "Akito is a girl."
The sliding door slammed loudly, flying across the tracks, and a young, frightened Akito darted in, closing the door in the same loud, frantic manner as opening. His eyes were wide, pupils dilated. Kureno glanced over to the door, confused.
"Akito?"
The young girl mumbled something unintelligible under her breath, not daring to break her horrified stare away from Kureno.
"Why…did it break?" She asked quietly.
"I don't…" Kureno started, tilting his head to the side in an owlish manner to represent his utter lack of understanding in the current situation.
"Why did it break?" Akito cried, and in a flash she was clutching to Kureno's shirt, glaring up into his eyes as if searching for an answer as salty tears began to cascade down her too-pale cheeks, a desperate expression taking over. "Why? Why did it break? Why are you betraying me?" Her grip only grew tighter as Kureno stared down at her, hurt.
"I don't know." He murmured.
"Never leave me!" Akito pleaded. "Never!"
-Present time-
"Ryuuzan-san," The old woman who resided within the main house called lightly in a revolted tone, adding the suffix bitterly and pushing open the black-papered sliding door, revealing the red glowing light of the red glass window that was the back wall. On the east wall there was a black-haired girl who slumped pathetically on the floor, completely oblivious to her own nakedness interrupted only by the streams of blood that flowed across her body, a large pool of the liquid on the floor. The body of one of the food-bringers was festering in the corner, eyes frozen wide with horror and crossed with pain. The girl's arms were hung above her head by chains and cuffs around her wrists, plunged securely into the wall. She lifted her head pathetically, revealing jewel-toned gleaming golden eyes with slit, catlike pupils. A small dribble of blood ran from her unsmiling mouth.
"Akito-sama wishes to see you." The woman announced. "I'll call for someone to let you loose." With that she left, and the girl named Ryuuzan lowered her head once again.
'Someone' came urgently, considering that Akito's request to see her was of great magnitude. The woman worked quickly, undoing the cuffs and quickly holding her wrists together as though she would attack at any moment. The woman scoffed at her nakedness. "Filthy, vulgar child." She spat. "Why are you naked?"
"The kimono that I was wearing was given to someone in greater need than me." Ryuuzan reported quietly, receiving a sharp slap to the face.
"Don't talk back!" The woman barked. "Go find something to wear."
The only clothes available were those of the food-bringer, and Ryuuzan quickly slipped on the bloodied, slashed kimono. The woman placed a pair of handcuffs on her wrists, and lead her by the chains on them out of the room and down the many corridors leading out of her secret chamber, until they reached Akito's room. The woman ordered her inside, and quickly left, wringing her hands from having touched the chains.
Akito glanced up from the table she sat at, and then her eyes grew cold, the typically blank expression on her face hardened with hatred. Kureno, who sat across from her, held a similar expression yet the hatred was not as profound as Akito.
"Come in," Akito hissed. Ryuuzan obeyed without haste, having been taught well to be respectful.
"Is it true?" Akito implored in a disgusted tone. "You've killed another assistant?"
Ryuuzan hung her head in shame. "It isn't my fault." She insisted weakly.
Akito glared at her with enough fury that it practically left a metallic taste in Ryuuzan's mouth. "Of course it's your fault. You decided your own actions."
"It was Zen!" Ryuuzan argued, looking up. Two assistants materialized out of seemingly nowhere and took her chained arms holding them tightly over her head at the sudden hint of anger in her tone.
"See?" Akito gestured to the assistants. "Even now, whenever you're upset you have to be confined. That's how much of a monster you are."
Ryuuzan let her head fall pathetically, and fought against the assistants to collapse to the floor, though their grip never slackened, jerking her cruelly by the arms and tightening their grip when she pulled away.
"Take her back to her room," instructed Akito. "I feel sick from looking at her for so long."
"No!" Ryuuzan cried. "Don't take me back there! Don't leave me back there! She'll come out! She'll make me do bad things!"
The assistants were oblivious to her requests, and attempted to pull her to a standing position. She defiantly pulled herself back down to the floor, shouting refusals as she fought back against the assistants. Finally they summoned enough energy from their new wave of annoyance at the girl, and they drug her away, hardly listening to her blood curdling screams as they forced her down the hallway and into her room, slamming the door quickly and padlocking it. Her bloody, uneven and broken fingernails scratched against the glass covering over the paper in the door, put there to keep her in. Minutes later there came the sound of sobs coming from inside the room. After checking that Ryuuzan was unable to escape, they left.
-X-
"Ryuuzan," the eerie voice whispered in her ears. Ryuuzan jolted to a straightened sitting position, bringing her hands to her ears with a rattling of the chains that was sure to catch the ears of anyone in the dead silent corridor. "Are you awake?" The voice continued.
"No! I'm not! I'm not!" Ryuuzan whispered back frantically.
"How did you reply?" The voice asked, smug with logic.
"Don't do anything to me." Ryuuzan pleaded in a whisper.
"Why?" The voice asked simply. "I won't hurt you. Only those who caused you pain and suffering. Let me kill them."
"No!" Ryuuzan shouted, the words reverberating off of the four crushing walls. "I won't let you!"
"Why?"
The question stunned her. Why? Killing was wrong. The answer immediately came to her mind, but she could not bring herself to answer. Zen was always right—there was no winning against her. No matter what kind of an answer one could think of, Zen would always be right. She would always have a point. There was no use.
"I don't know." Ryuuzan admitted.
"Let me…" and the voice faded away. Ryuuzan jolted back into a straight position, eyes wide as her pulse quickened dangerously. Her breathing rate increased as fire ripped through her body, leaving her breathless with her face against the floor as her eyes rolled back in her head, and then rolled back, the color now fire engine red, the same slit pupils as before. Zen smiled and flexed her, previously Ryuuzan's, fingers, pushing Ryuuzan's voice back temporarily in her mind.
"See?" She asked aloud. "Now for the revenge." With one fierce tug of both arms, Zen tore the hooks that held her cuffs chained securely to the wall loose, picking the lock on the cuffs easily with the pointed end of the hook. Once freed, Zen rubbed her wrists in relief. "Such a bothersome discomfort…" she murmured to herself. Her footsteps seemed to echo throughout the large, red-tinted room. In the very center she stopped to brush her fingertips across a puddle of blood, bringing them to her lips to taste the substance. She gave a low cringe. "It still tastes like metal." She sighed, and made her way over to the door.
Upon realizing that it was locked, Zen cocked her head to the side in disappointment. "Is that really all they could do?" She asked, smirking. "Tsk, tsk." With a loud crash, the glass in the door shattered, Zen quickly moving her fists so as to not be cut. Once the glass had completely fallen to the floor, she dug her stubby fingernails into the wood and pulled until the wooden frame fell, as well. She easily stepped through the thin black paper, not giving a second thought as it jaggedly ripped in two to accommodate her size.
The corridor was lit, assistants scurrying around frantically with cuffs and chains, stopping dead in their tracks when they noticed Zen, standing perfectly still in the middle of the hallway. Anger crossed their faces, and they stomped in her direction. As the first to approach her came within two feet of her, suddenly there was a terrible cracking sound and she fell to the ground, her head bent back from her neck too far, barely attached. (Interruption: For what's coming, that was mild.) Zen glared at the assistants.
"Kill me if you can," she whispered to them.
-X-
The main house was in utter panic.
Nine assistants had died the previous night, all in horrific ways. The main problem was—Zen had gotten loose. After the killings, no one had dared attempt to lock her up for fear of being killed. Zen was dangerous.
Currently, ten assistants stood behind Ryuuzan as she sat before Akito, golden eyes glistening. Akito's anger was obvious, sending fiery tremors through the inhabitants of the room other than her. She drug her long fingernails along the wooden floor, emitting a high screeching sound, and then stood and stepped across the room to Ryuuzan, the room falling deadly silent. Without warning, Akito lashed out and struck Ryuuzan across the face, her lack of guard nearly sending her falling back. The assistants caught her, pushing her forward cruelly.
"Get out!" Akito ordered, gesturing to the door. "Go! Far away from here! We don't need a beast like you. We don't need you!"
The assistants nodded in agreement, and one was bold enough to speak up. "Akito-sama, where shall I make arrangements to send her?"
Akito's reply was immediate. "To live with the cat and that gorgon." She smirked. "Three monsters living together. How fitting."
"I will call Shigure-san and inform him of her arrival." The assistant promised, and swept from the room.
"Now send her back." Akito ordered. "I can't stand looking at her."
-X-
The next morning only brought the familiar sound of rattling chains and hushed whispers as Ryuuzan awoke, blinking the remains of sleep from her eyes to see several assistants unclasping the cuffs, tossing them into the corner. As they noticed she was awake, their pace increased, quickly slapping a new pair of chained cuffs on and pulling her up into a standing position by her arms. She wobbled on the spot for a few seconds, dizzy, before the assistants practically drug her to the door, pushing her out almost cautiously after the fiasco two nights before. All was silent as she was sent through the many hallways and corridors before an exit was found, members of the main house looking on in total disgust and with a readiness to run as though she would snap and let Zen take over at any minute. The assistants stopped at the door.
"You are going to live with Shigure-sama." One told her.
"How to I get there?" She dared to ask, receiving a sharp strike to the face.
"You have been taught to not speak unless requested to." The assistant hissed. "Now go."
-X-
The woods were dark, the only light coming from the dully-shining moon overhead in the inky dark blue sky strewn with stars, footsteps being the only noise audible. Honda Tohru looked up at the sky with an optimistic smile, praising it mentally for being such a nice and beautiful night, the weather in perfect temperature. Suddenly she tripped over a large object on the ground and fell with a dull thud, dropping her bag. She bit her lip and picked up and picked up her bag, dusting it off, and then turned to see what she had tripped on. The object was nearly invisible in the gloom, but it was slowly moving up and down and it was definitely warm. Tohru let out a shriek of terror mingled with surprise when two red, catlike eyes opened and blinked up at her, the person shifting slightly.
"Honda-san!" Came the alarmed voice of Sohma Yuki, followed by hurried footsteps as his presence became apparent next to Tohru. He glanced down at the red, piercing eyes, their slit pupils widened at the darkness of the woods, and he took an instinctual step back in recognition of Zen. "Zen?" He asked her.
The person, Zen, as Yuki had called her, stood slowly with a rustling of leaves and blinked slowly, sighing. "Yuki-kun," her low hiss-like voice whispered his name almost terrifyingly, unleashing torrents of hate and misfortune in the undertone, seeming to come from two voices rather than one. "By what chance am I encountering you tonight?"
"What did you do to Honda-san?" Yuki demanded.
"She woke me up," Zen murmured. "And to think, I was having such a lovely dream."
"ZEN, GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!"
The red eyes shifted over to where the angered voice was coming from, narrowing slightly as Kyo came into her view, exquisite eyesight catching him even in the darkness of the woods. She laughed coldly. "Kyo-kun, Kyo-kun," She whispered. "Why do you want to keep me away? I have only just met her, anyway."
Kyo glared at her scathingly. "Don't you dare take another step." He warned her. Zen cackled quietly and pulled her wrists apart quickly. The chain snapped into two smaller links.
Suddenly, Zen shot forward toward Tohru, wrapping one arm around her neck and standing behind her. Tohru froze; sputtering random gibberish of confusion and alarm as Zen traced her pale, long, and cold fingers up her throat in an almost ghostly manner, and then froze, staring off into the forest, red eyes wide with alarm. Instantly she released the shocked Tohru and fell to the ground, clutching at her throbbing head. Her eyes rolled back in their sockets and then back into their proper place, now a bright jewel-toned gold, glistening with unshed tears. She glanced over at Tohru, and then over at the struck-speechless Yuki and Kyo, and then curled into a pathetic ball on the earthen ground, hiding her face as she began to sob.
"Gomenasai!" She wailed miserably. "Gomenasai! Gomenasai!"
Tohru, having recovered slightly, looked down at her, biting her lip. Slowly, she lowered herself to a crouch and cautiously laid a hand on her back, rubbing it in a reassuring, motherly manner. Kyo and Yuki took a hasty step forward in a protective manner, ready to restrain her.
"Tohru…" Kyo growled. "Are you stupid? Get away from her! She's dangerous."
Tohru shook her head, still nearly invisible in the darkness. "No," she murmured, a small smile appearing on her face. "I believe that she can be trusted."
-X-
"She's a monster."
"She's disgusting."
"She was a disgrace from the day she was born."
"She's not human."
"Ano…"
Ryuuzan's eyes flicked open and focused quickly on Honda Tohru, dressed in tan pajamas and holding out a small china plate with four onigiri placed on it. She was sitting in front of Ryuuzan's place outside, sitting by the door where she had fallen asleep. Tohru cocked her head to the side in an owlish manner.
"I brought you some onigiri. I noticed you hadn't eaten." She offered sheepishly.
Ryuuzan stared at them in slight confusion. "Onigiri?" She asked.
Tohru looked away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "Do you not like onigiri?"
Ryuuzan frowned. "I've never tried one. All I ever eat is plain food from the main house."
"Well…etto…if you tried one you might like it…" Tohru urged.
Ryuuzan unsurely reached out and took one, holding it the wrong way, and lifted it carefully to her mouth, taking a small bite. She chewed slowly, looking down at the onigiri, and then she wolfed the rest down quickly, flushing and looking down once she finished.
"Was it okay?" Tohru asked cautiously.
"Oishii." Ryuuzan muttered in embarrassment. Tohru smiled and moved to sit next to her.
"You're Zen-san, right?" She asked. Ryuuzan froze.
"No. I am Ryuuzan." She replied shortly.
Tohru blinked at her, thoroughly confused. "But…they called you Zen-san."
"That's not me."
-X-
"New student!" Okazaki-sensei cheered euphorically, wildly gesturing to the new student that stood to the right of her, large gold eyes fixed on the class and nervously tapping her fingers against her leg.
Her pale, literally snow-white skin contoured against her long, inky black hair, straight bangs hanging in her golden eyes with slit pupils. She wore the Kaibara navy uniform in the short-skirt version with a white sweater and loose white socks. The class stared at her in amazement at her odd yet strikingly beautiful features.
"And her name is—!" Okazaki cried, pointing to the student indicating that she should finish.
"Sohma Ryuuzan."
It took exactly five seconds for a reaction to set in. Overdramatic gasps and mutters of confusion swept across the classroom like a plague, some insulting the name and claiming that there was no way that a failure could be related to Yuki. Others simply gawked at her for various reasons.
Okazaki let out a whoop of excitement. "Choose a seat, Sohma-kun!" She cheered.
Ryuuzan peered around the room nervously for an open seat, quickly locating one and pacing slowly over to it and attempting to ignore the sneers and glares that were directed straight at her. She sat down, crossing her arms subconsciously.
"Okay!" Okazaki cheered, holding up a textbook and jabbing a finger at one of the questions. "Who can translate this sentence?" She asked energetically, a perfect example of 'genki'. "NEW KID!" She cried, pointing at Ryuuzan, who looked up in mild confusion. "Translate number three!"
Ryuuzan peered down at her textbook for less than a second before reciting in a quiet, nearly inaudible voice, "The…ain…tion…is…"
"We can't hear you!" Okazaki interrupted, leaning forward and cupping her ear. "Stand, pleeeeease!"
Ryuuzan stood slowly, reverting back to the nervous leg tapping with her left hand, right hand in a loose fist resting on her collarbone. She took a breath and recited in perfect, plain English, "The train station is two miles from the hotel."
Okazaki let out a whoop. "Nice job, Sohma-kun!" She cheered.
(Interruption: Keep in mind that though it is typed in English, what they're speaking is technically Japanese if you think of it as though it is an anime—the subtitles would be English, but the words are Japanese.)
"Beginner's luck." A fan club girl near the front of the room sneered, flipping her hand to dismiss the matter.
-X-
As the class began to disperse for their lunch hour, Ryuuzan simply sat at her desk unmoving, staring ahead blankly at absolutely nothing. A few minutes later, a strip of navy that happened to be the arm of Tohru Honda as she stood in front of her desk, a shy smile and bento in her hand cut off her gaze. In a late reaction, Ryuuzan jumped, startled by the brunette's sudden appearance.
"Do you want to eat lunch with us?" Tohru offered shyly. "I'd like to introduce you to my friends, if that's okay with you…"
Ryuuzan blinked up at her, confused. "Eat…lunch?" She repeated slowly.
Tohru nodded, and then flew into a frenzy at the slight undertone of withdrawal in Ryuuzan's voice. "B-but, you don't have to, I was just thinking if you wanted to maybe you could!" She assured her quickly.
Ryuuzan blinked up at her with her golden eyes again, a gesture that seemed to be her trademark motion of confusion. "Can I?" She asked.
"Ano…yes. If you're sure…you don't have to if you don't want to…" Tohru answered nervously.
Ryuuzan stood in a movement so quick Tohru gawked for a moment to wonder stupidly how she'd suddenly morphed from a sitting position to a standing position, and in an instant Ryuuzan was standing beside her shyly, shoulders slightly bunched and her hands clasped. Tohru smiled and took her hand, leading her across the room to where her friends waited for her.
Uotani Arisa was green-eyed and pretty with a tough-looking edge and semi-long blonde hair. She wore the longest form of the Kaibara girls' uniform, and sported a white surgical mask, complaining of pollen every now and then. Hanajima Saki wore a single black braid over her shoulder and the medium-length skirt. Her fingernails were painted black, and she had a gothic look that proved to be slightly misleading with the kindness that she showed to Tohru and Arisa.
"This is Sohma Ryuuzan." Tohru introduced the girl happily. Arisa lurched forward, grinning at her.
"Where'd you get those contacts?" She asked, resting an arm on her shoulder casually and poking her cheek. "Those eyes can't be real."
"They're real." Ryuuzan answered in an embarrassed, quiet tone.
"Man, that's so cool." Arisa mused with a slight smirk. "Hanajima, come see the new kid." She offered in a lightly teasing voice. Ryuuzan flushed and looked away as she was made a show of.
"So we've gained a new friend." Saki murmured, running her fingers through a lock of Ryuuzan's hair, admiring the straight texture.
Ryuuzan's eyes widened at the word. Friend.
Don't believe them. Zen's voice hissed. Don't think you'll ever be saved. They'll forget about you, won't they?
"Ah!" Tohru exclaimed suddenly with a bright smile, indicating that she had an idea. "Let's all eat lunch with the Sohma!" She proposed happily. Arisa smirked and nodded, pumping a fist.
"That sounds nice." Saki agreed. "We haven't all eaten together in a long time."
"I…" Ryuuzan started, and then shook her head and looked away.
Tohru cocked her head to the side in a worried manner. "Do you…not like your family, Ryuuzan-san?"
Ryuuzan froze on the spot, biting her lip. Slowly and mechanically, she turned to face Tohru, and the hurt in her eyes made the brunette regret ever asking the question. "It's not that I don't like them," Ryuuzan muttered. "It's sort of…the other way around."
Tohru's eyes widened and she hesitated before replying. "Oh…" She murmured. "I'm sorry."
I told you. Zen remarked, the smirk almost audible in her ghostly voice.
Ryuuzan hurriedly shook her head. "No…um…it's okay. Just go without me." She offered.
Arisa's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Momiji likes everyone, so there's no way you could go wrong there. Orange-head can just deal with it." She presented. "Cause I like you, new kid."
Saki nodded in agreement.
Ryuuzan gave a small, slightly sad smile at their kindness toward someone they'd just met. "Okay. I'll go."
"All right!" Arisa cheered.
-X-
"Tohru!" Momiji cried happily, running toward the brunette with his arms outstretched, sporting the navy girl's uniform. He stopped abruptly before embracing Tohru, however, and instead took her hand, bouncing on his heels. "Let's eat outside today!" He proposed. Tohru smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Yo," Haru muttered, appearing behind Momiji. His hands were plunged deep into his pockets, white layer of his hair messy with the appearance of teased spikes as usual, short back part jet black. He had adorned his uniform with many pieces of gaudy jewelry, three ear piercings visible in his ears.
"Hatsuharu-san," Tohru acknowledged.
Haru suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, staring over Tohru's shoulder at the girl behind her. Momiji, too, stared at Ryuuzan with a strangely dark expression. Tohru blinked and turned to see what they were looking at, looking back and forth from Ryuuzan to the two younger Sohma in confusion.
"Why is she here?" Haru asked, eyes narrowed.
"We're eating lunch together." Arisa informed him, laying her arm on Ryuuzan's shoulder. "Be nice to the new kid." She added in a teasing tone, which appeared to be her specialty.
Momiji gave a low, nearly invisible cringe and turned away, releasing Tohru's hand. "Okay." He agreed finally.
As they headed out the doors, the two younger Sohma had been silent for the entire walk. They located Kyo and Yuki, who seemed to be in the middle of an argument which Yuki was winning, voice calm yet with the same hidden authority against Kyo's typical yelling and threatening. They sat down, Tohru unpacking the contents of their 'picnic' and placing them on the cloth, handing everyone a paper plate.
The lunch only brought awkward silence from the Sohma, all seeming rather spacey. The majority of the conversation came from Arisa, Saki, and Tohru, who were chatting nonchalantly about their plans for summer break. After a few minutes they got up and left, the excuse being that they needed to get their supplies before the next class began. Tohru waved as they left, and then turned back to the Sohma.
Tohru jumped, startled, as a loud crash rang out and several dishes were suddenly flipped over. Her gaze traveled to Haru standing suddenly, fists clenched and hostile eyes glaring ahead scathingly at Ryuuzan, who stared down at her hands in her lap. In astonishment, Tohru recognized that his black side had appeared. Kyo and Yuki quickly stood, as equally surprised as she was.
Before any of them noticed it, Haru was suddenly standing behind Ryuuzan rather than across the cloth from her. Furiously, he reached out to grab a fistful of her hair. A pure white hand shot out, inhumanly fast, and caught his wrist with an iron grip, preventing him from moving. This only infuriated Black Haru more. Ryuuzan was breathing quickly, nearing the point of hyperventilation, when suddenly she turned, laughing darkly to herself without releasing his wrist. Red eyes looked up at him, narrowed.
"What is it, Black Haru-kun?" She asked in the same double, multi-emotion-stricken, hiss-like voice, smirking up at his furious expression. "Were you really planning to hurt me?"
Tohru stared in utter shock, unsure of what to do. The red eyes were the same as the night when she'd first seen Ryuuzan, and the voice was the same, as well. Yet Kyo and Yuki had called her Zen that time…maybe it was a different side to Ryuuzan. She stood hesitantly, reaching out a hand as though to stop her. "Zen-san, Hatsuharu-san, please be sensible!" She begged.
Zen's eyes suddenly flamed in hostility, staring at Tohru. "Get away." Zen spat. "Ryuuzan likes you, so I won't do anything. But get away now before you get hurt."
Tohru took a frightful step backwards at the fire in Zen's voice and threatening undertone.
Zen stood slowly, releasing Haru's wrist as though it was contaminated with a terminal disease. "Listen here, Hatsuharu-kun." She ordered. "It won't matter how badly you injure my body. The only way to really hurt me is through my mind."
Yuki stepped forward daringly, reaching out a hand as though to restrain Zen. It was too dangerous, to have Zen out in the open like she was, close to many people who she could kill…Zen was more of a death threat than any US military could cook up. Her vectors, invisible psychic arms, could reach up to six meters away, and could easily pass through humans. It could take her less than one second to kill someone by simply moving an important vein in his or her brain.
Zen laughed evilly. "Get back, Yuki-kun." She commanded in a tone that was deeply amused, suggesting that she knew what he planned to do, and found no real threat in it—only childish accusations.
"Zen-san!" Tohru whimpered. "Y-you can't fight in school! You'll get in trouble!"
Black Haru laughed darkly. "It's because you exist, Kizuna. Your entire existence is worthless. We'd all be normal if it weren't for you. And once someone kills you and lets us all go, I'm going to thank them."
Tohru's eyes widened and she cocked her head to the side slightly, wondering what he meant.
Black Haru's gaze shifted over to the thoroughly confused Tohru, and he smirked. "And just because it pisses you off I'm gonna take Kyo's little girlfriend and take your damn existence out on her."
Kyo was positively infuriated at this, and lurched forward, landing a harsh punch on Black Haru's face, fire burning behind his orange irises.
"Honda Tohru." Zen whispered in the momentary distraction, and shot one of her vectors in her direction. Tohru didn't see it coming, of course, and was exquisitely surprised when she felt something pushing her away from Zen and Black Haru, yet was even more surprised to find that it was gentle, not aggressive. She hastily took a few steps backward, feeling the whatever-it-was leave.
Zen smirked evilly and sent her vectors in the direction of Haru and Kyo. Tohru, suddenly noticing their warped outline against the atmosphere, nearly screamed as they headed for the two warring Sohma. She stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Please stop, Zen-san!" She pleaded. "Don't hurt them!"
Zen's eyes grew wide and she fell to the ground, eyes hidden by her bangs. She didn't move for a long time, and Tohru took a few hesitant steps toward her, nearly oblivious to Yuki's warnings to stay away. Zen's shoulders were shaking. Tohru crouched beside her, and the black-haired girl looked up at her slowly, now golden eyes flooded with tears. Suddenly, she flung her arms around Tohru, sobbing.
"I…didn't mean to!" She cried. "I couldn't do anything…she took over…I'm sorry!"
"Orange-head." Arisa's angry voice came from behind Kyo, and Tohru looked over in time to see Arisa dumping the contents of a filled water bottle over the heads of Kyo and Hatsuharu, who were now standing stiff in the position they'd been in. Haru blinked a few times to remove the access water from his eyes, and peered over at Arisa.
"That was refreshing." He muttered flatly.
"Orange-head," Arisa growled, pointing to Ryuuzan who was still weeping apologies to Tohru, having become irremovable at this point. "What did you do?"
"I didn't do a damn thing," Kyo spat.
Arisa didn't buy it, and the two instantly picked up where Haru and Kyo had left off, except this time it was Arisa rather than Black Haru. White Haru was laying in the grass peacefully, staring up at the clouds blankly as though he hadn't just been in a potentially life-threatening situation.
"Are you okay, Ryuuzan-san?" Tohru asked worriedly after Ryuuzan's crying had stopped. She looked over at the pale girl who sat leaned against her, her head on Tohru's shoulder. Her eyes were closed peacefully, and suddenly she seemed tiny. Her bone structure became more apparent as she noticed how thin and underfed Ryuuzan appeared, the unhealthily pale skin stretched over the bones that jutted out. Tohru nearly laughed at what she realized what Ryuuzan had the appearance of, and she remembered the Halloween tales that her mother used to tell her. She even gave a small giggle at the thought—Ryuuzan looked like a sleeping vampire.
-X-
"Kizuna Arisu," a woman with pale brown hair tied back into a loose ponytail knocked lightly on a metal door leading into a small, cell-like room. The nameplate outside read 'Testing Subject Number 13'. She entered, closing the door behind her and balancing her clipboard on her hip, tucking it slightly into her elbow joint. There was a figure slumped by the wall. The majority of its face was invisible due to the long, albino white bangs that covered its eyes and nose due to its length. It was puffed up at the top, crafty layers ranging in length from the back of the head. It tapered to an end at the person's jaw except in the back where it extended to the person's thin shoulders. They didn't look up as the woman entered. Their fingernails dug into their scalp, placed over their ears as though to block out a sound.
"Arisu-chan." The woman scolded slightly, walking slowly across the room and crouching before the person she'd called Arisu. (Japanese form of the English name Alice.) She reached out slowly, parting the person's bangs to reveal his or her eyes. They were large, inverted copies of a typical eye, the whites were black and the irises white, with typical black pupils. To anyone else it would have been disturbing, yet the woman smiled maternally.
"There. Now you can see, can't you…" she hesitated, looking back at Arisu's eyes. "Himitsu-kun."
Arisu didn't move, just sat there with the same position, not even moving or focusing his or her—it was difficult to tell, what with the feminine face yet frighteningly thin and small body—eyes on the woman who'd addressed them. Himitsu, she'd called him, indicating his other identity. Arisu was not present at the time.
"When…do…I…get…out?" Himitsu asked in a nearly inaudible whisper, the words slow and strung out, as though they had not spoken in a very long time and had forgotten how. "Alice…" he or she spoke perfect the English name perfectly with a properly pronounced L rather than the typical tapped R sounds, the rest of his or her words in typical Japanese. "…and…I…are…dying…" Himitsu's voice was quiet, toneless, and their gender was still indecipherable by simply apparent lack of pitch due to the low volume and practical toneless-ness that left it basically blank.
The woman smiled sadly and wrapped her arms around Himitsu, biting her lip. "You have to be strong, okay?" She murmured. "We need you do work hard at getting better while you're here. None of us like to see you like this."
He started to open his mouth, yet she interrupted.
"Don't speak if it hurts your throat." She offered, suddenly noticing the number of miniscule slits in Himitsu's neck that were covered with small pieces of tape that held on tiny wooden swabs that smelled strongly of medical substances. "If you ever need me, ask for Koyama-sensei, okay? That's my name. You know that, don't you?"
Himitsu nodded in an agonizingly slow manner. Koyama also noticed that he was trembling violently.
"Are you cold?" She asked. There was no reaction, and she sighed. "Jeez, you never tell me when you want something." She strode over to a small cabinet, high enough up on the wall that she had to step outside and drag in a ladder to reach the cabinet near the high ceiling. She drew out a white flannel blanket and hastily stepped down, carrying the ladder back outside and reentering the room. She draped the blanket across Himitsu's shoulders. She patted his head and smiled warmly.
"There you go. Now when Arisu-kun wakes up he won't be cold." She headed for the door. "Remind him that I said hello, won't you?" With that she left, the heavy metal door swinging shut with a slam behind her.
Himitsu's shuddering increased to where it was almost seizure-worthy, and they grew limp and unmoving for a second before their eyes flicked back open. Alice, having woken up from the sleep in which he or she allowed Himitsu to take over, murmured in a voice nearly the same as the previous in the quality of being toneless and blank, yet different somehow. "Nee…san…"
A/N: And so ends chapter one. Alice/Arisu comes up later. If you haven't guessed, Alice has a second personality like Ryuuzan has Zen. Alice is actually a pretty important character.
Nee-san means older sister and Himitsu means secret, for a bit of a heads-up incase you didn't know. When Alice says "nee-san", Alice isn't referring to Koyama. Koyama is an extremely unimportant character. Have you noticed that I'm drying my hardest not to give out Alice's gender? Ha.