Title: Humanity's Mask - a "Fruits Basket" fanfiction
Originally Written: August 21, 2010 at 00:57
Disclaimer: Original Story and Characters Copyrighted by Natsuki Takaya
Warnings: A darker view of humanity dealing with emotions. If you do not like a negative fanfiction, please click the "Back" button.
I don't think anyone fully realizes the extent that people hide what they feel. A hidden grimace at a half-forgotten memory of hurt, covered by a bright smile. The cheerful exterior shielding others' view of the turmoil of a painful recollection of the past...
I can 'hear' those thoughts, see the expressions of people - those whose exterior faces do not match the ones on the inside. The crying child, the confused child - the hurt child.
No one properly reached out to these people, the ones who I watch now as they attempt to socialize in a way they never had to before - even though they are family. A bright laugh, a brief look of sorrow before another smile appears - reassuring that all is well when almost everything is wrong in their world.
I 'feel' their emotions - a swirling mess of chaos, more bestial than humanoid. A dangerous mixture of loathing and adoration, centered around one person.
But they have been lightening for a while now, slowly but surely. Because of her, my dear one. A friend I treasure.
Yet even she hides behind a mask like they do; a shield to protect her from the harsh reality she still refuses to acknowledge. Half-forgotten memories of what had happened, what she wished was true - she spins tales of happiness based on her lighter memories, refusing to linger on the sadder ones.
The lonely ones.
A smile, a quick burst of laughter, the happy aura - we all have it to some extent. Some choose to display it less than others - but it is there. I can 'feel' the swirl of conflicting messages - the inner screams refuting the outer projection. A calm public face blocking our view of the torment everyone faces.
If I had never faced it, I would have never believed it. The awful conflict inside - choosing to show the inner strife or hiding it, pretending that everything is right in the world.
A world where nothing is entirely at peace - at least, not for people as young as us.
This is our time - to discover and explore, to learn and understand - both about ourselves and the world around us. Teenagers rarely learn to accept everything from life, to be at peace with the world - one with Atman, with Kami-sama.
But...
I can 'hear' the confusion, the debates, the questions - to reveal the inevitable odyssey or to hide the weary soul, worn from traveling in search of meaning from a life with no meaning. Life is only meaningful when we give it meaning.
There is despair...cries of hopelessness when some people discover this. But you will never see it, hear of it.
Humanity's mask is well-crafted - built over years and years of practice to hide the weaknesses, the flaws.
You will never see the true extent to which people hide their feelings.
I wish I was as lucky.
AN: Loosely based on Hanajima's probable point-of-view on people, because her power would give her the ability to 'see' people on two different levels - both physically and mentally. I'm just afraid that this piece is more based on what I think about people (admit it, everyone hides who they really are to some extent) than what Hanajima might think.
As a side note: If you were confused about who was being referred to in the story, Hanajima is talking about the Sohmas as they (the girl trio and the zodiac members) eat lunch together while uncomfortable in their relationships with each other despite being family. The second reference is to Tohru and the loneliness she had to endure during her childhood - after her father died and before she met Uo-chan and Hana-chan.