Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. But I do own this computer… And I own my imagination too… I think…

A/N: Wah! After Lullaby, I really want to write about Kyo… I miss him so much! ( But this story popped into my head, and I just had to write it.. I guess the plus side is, Kyo is alive in this one!

Fragile As The Snow

Lost At Sea (Selfish Misery At Its Best)

Each step the young silver haired boy took seemed weighted down, as if he had prison chains attached to his feet. He kept his head bowed, so that his hair covered his eyes, shadows falling onto the rest of his face. His mouth was set in a straight line, hands in his pockets, each stride less confident then the next. As he walked up the path to the middle school, heads turned. The boy could hear the whispers around him, commenting in trivial things like his hair, his straight and smooth uniform, his family, and his actions. He ignored it all. All that mattered to Yuki Sohma today was getting through the first day of the all boys middle school Akito had sent him to – alive.

He seated himself at his desk, hands clasped in front of him, pale violet eyes staring blankly towards the blackboard, seemingly void of thought or emotions. The rest of the boys filed in behind him, seating themselves as far away from the new kid as they possibly could – huddling together and conversing in carrying whispers.

"He's one of those Sohma kids – hear they're rich –"

"I heard that he's stupid –"

"Does he think he's better then us –"

"His parents abandoned him –"

"He doesn't talk –"

"Dumb –"

"Deaf –"

"Stupid –"

Yuki resisted the urge to clamp his hands over his ears and scream until the noise was drowned out. He wasn't dumb! He wasn't stupid! Was he? Akito told him he was stupid almost every day – if someone says something about you every day – it has to be true, doesn't it? Yuki's eyes moved from the black board, down to the desk. Still, even if he was, he didn't want them to call him stupid.

The bell rang, making itself heard over the din in the classroom, and the teacher stalked in. He was a harsh-looking, middle aged man, balding, with a circle of brown hair around the top of his shinny head. He had on round glasses that flashed as he turned, giving you a glimpse of his piercing brown eyes held inside them. Yuki's stomach turned just looking at him. He had to spend an entire year with that?

Mental note: Kiss major ass…

The teacher's droning lectures carried Yuki through the rest of the school day in a daze, finally leaving the twelve year old boy to walk home the same way he had walked in, though now he had books clutched tightly in his arms.

He was well over half way back to the house, when a voice called out to him. "Hey! Hey you!" Yuki took a few more steps, before he realized that the voice was calling to him. Then, he paused, turning slowly to face his pursuer.

It was a semi-tall, black haired boy with blue eyes, grinning over at him, waving his arms in the air like an idiot. He seemed to be alone, for the most part. No friends whispering behind him. So, it couldn't be a dare, could it? Yuki's eyebrows shot up disbelievingly, watching the boy follow after him.

"Yuki Sohma?" Asked the boy when he stopped directly in front of Yuki, panting slightly.

"Um, yes?" Asked Yuki in as polite a voice as he could manage.

"I'm Yura Sanabe!" Said the boy triumphantly, inclining his head. Yuki did the same, tentatively, his eyes never leaving the boy's face.

"Um, nice to meet you. I guess… You already know my name." Mumbled the silver-haired boy shyly, his eyes not meeting Yura's. Instead they stayed a level below that, staring comfortably at his nose.

"Yeah." Agreed Yura brightly. "Our names are kinda funny aren't they? I mean, I'm Yura, and You're Yuki… And the whole Sohma Sanabe thing…" He chuckled a bit at the thought, but Yuki didn't really understand the joke.

"You're saying our names are similar, correct?" He asked, brow furrowing.

Yura gave him a queer look. "Yeah…"

"I don't understand. How is that funny?"

"You're a funny kid, Sohma." Replied Yura. The smile had faded from his face, and he was staring at Yuki as if he were from another planet. "I'll see you around." And with that, the strange boy was in and out of Yuki Sohma's life.

Yuki watched his retreating back, a frown coming to his face. Frustration welled up inside. That boy had just talked to him, accepted him, and he had blown it with his socially retarded questions! Dang it.

Mental Note: LAUGH WHEN OTHER PEOPLE LAUGH.

Oh well. Akito wouldn't like Yuki to have friends anyway. He'd probably get really angry if Yuki ever asked to have Yura over… Or spend the night at a friends house… Just the very thought made the rat boy shudder slightly. Of course, the possibility of Yuki even ever having friends was zero to one. After all, everyone hated the rat.

Including the rat himself.

Yuki kicked up the dirt along the path as he entered the main house, the large gates swinging open, much like a prison cell, accepting the small boy inside. His now dirt stained black shoes carried him up the steps, and into the one place he hated most in the world: Akito's black room.

Yuki could see the form of the just slightly older boy sitting just inside the door, as if waiting for something.

Waiting for him.

A/N: Tah-DAH! I guess. Not that great of a first chapter. but then again, I'm very self-critical. What do you think? REVIEW!