Disclaimer: I do not own fruitsbasket or any of the characters related to it 33


Rin watched the white cloud of smoke drift from her mouth.

She glanced down at her complex watch. "Twelve degrees..." she murmured softly.

A silent swear drifted out of her mouth with yet another cloud.

Nothing from the cold earth dared to move.

The overpowering silence added to the emptiness in the bright, snow-covered homes.

The eerie surrounding made Rin's stomach tighten.

She took a deep nervous breath.

The frigid air burned in her nose, which had become pink from the excessive cold.

"No one is coming to save you" a voice interrupted the calmness.

She quickly turned to see where it had come from.

The same landscape was laid out in front of her: white.

Rin glanced at the ground to see if any footprints were visible.

The same nauseating mound of snow remained.

Growing weary by the minute, she turned back.

As she pushed her way through the deep snow, the blue sky slowly turned gray.

It had not snowed for hours, but Rin knew the weather had a way with being unpredictable.

No one would have guessed such a powerful blizzard could happen in the middle of spring.

Now she was in front of the Shigure's home

She reached out her pink hands to open the door.

They burned as she groped the solid opening.

The stinging in her hands became worse.

Rin pulled her hand away.

Frustrated, she kicked the ice door.

The door came crashing open.

Ice flew everywhere.

The cold shards stung her face when they hit her skin.

The air in the house was still freezing, but it was relief from the dropping temperature outside.

Rin slid her hood off, revealing a head full of long, brown hair.

She shook some melting snow from the moist tips.

Once inside she scanned for any signs of it's residents. .

The home was completely lifeless

The knot in her stomach was growing even tighter.

"I know for a fact that they do not care about you"

The voice had become drawn out.

Every syllable clawed away at her heart.

The voice's cryptic words were, in her mind, very true.

"No one cares about you any more. They never did"

Rin felt herself mouth the last words:

"They never did"

What was happening to her?

A chill colder than the air swept through her bones

Rin shivered as she sank slowly to the floor of the home.

She whimpered like a child at the sight of her dark blue fingers.

The voice returned still again, almost unheard,

"What unspoken sins have done this to you?"

Rin cringed as her memories flooded back.

She answered, her voice quivering with a psychotic manner, "It doesn't matter anymore. I've been left here to die."

She laughed as her frosty body hit the floor.

A cool stream of blood flowed from her head.

She ran her fingers through the crimson pool.
"Still warm," she sighed, quickly loosing consciousness.

As the world darkened, and all feelings faded, she heard the voice one last time.

"Небо настолько ближайше, но моя душа immovable. Я оставлял после того как я расстегнут? Я чувствую здание боли. Будет этой болью diesire, котор нужно умереть?"

Quietly, Rin sang back,

"The sky is so near, yet my soul is immovable. What have I left undone? I feel the pain building. Is this pain the diesire to die?"

A gentle snow began to fall onto the house once again. The soft flakes drifted down towards the still ground. Nothing from the cold earth dared to move.The overpowering silence added to the emptiness surrounding the area. The wind seemed to carry her fading voice through the mountains. With her last breath she wept.


In the hospital, Hatsuharu stood and watched Rin's chest raise and sink slowly. He cringed at the tears that were falling from her sleeping body. There was nothing he could do to stop them: no way to help her fight whatever terrible thoughts were haunting her mind. He stroked her icy cheek softly, and tried to hold back his own emotions. He felt himself whisper, "It's alright…" a few times before collapsing onto the bed beside her. "You might not want me here…Rin, but I promise I'll stay with you until you get better." He lamented before falling asleep; weeping with the woman he loved.