Disclaimer: The song "The Queen and The Soldier" belongs to Suzanne Vega. Fruits Basket belongs to Natsuki Takaya. I own nothing.
Lyrics are center-aligned and in italics.
A soldier came knocking upon the queen's door.
He said, "I am not fighting for you anymore."
And the queen knew she'd seen his face someplace before
And slowly she let him inside.
He said, "I've watched your palace up here on the hill,
And i've wondered who's the woman for whom we all kill,
But i am leaving tomorrow and you can do what you will.
Only first i am asking you why."
It was rare for Akito to answer the door herself, but tonight she did. She found Shigure on the other side. He looked a bit surprised to see her, and he bit his lip.
"Come in, then," she said. It wasn't unusual for him to visit her, and she almost looked forward to it. She turned to go back to her room, expecting him to follow.
"Akito," he said quietly. "I'm leaving."
Slowly she turned back to him.
Down the long narrow hall he was led,
Into her rooms with her tapestries red.
And she never once took the crown from her head.
And she asked him there to sit down.
"What are you talking about, Shigure?" she asked flatly. She had never seen him so serious.
"I'm leaving. Tomorrow. I'm going to go someplace far away, beyond the zodiac curse. Beyond the Sohmas."
"What are you doing here, then?" she asked suspiciously.
He said, "I see you now, and you are so very young.
But i've seen more battles lost than i have battles won,
And i've got this intuition, says it's all for your fun.
And now will you tell me why?"
The young queen, she fixed him with an arrogant eye.
She said, "You won't understand an you may as well not try."
But her face was a child's, and he thought she would cry,
But she closed herself up like a fan.
"This curse… it's ruining our lives, Akito. Not just yours and mine, but everyone involved. We all have horrible lives because of the curse."
Akito glared at him. "I hope you're not suggesting it's my fault."
"I would never!" Shigure grinned at her, his teasing nature showing through for a moment. "But don't you see, Akito? The only way to escape the curse is to go so far away it doesn't matter."
Akito tilted her head, regarding him intently. "Why have you come here?"
She said, "I've swallowed a secret burning thread.
It cuts me inside, and often i've bled."
He laid his hand then on top of her head
And he bowed her down to the ground.
"Tell me, how hungry are you? How weak you must feel
As you are living here alone and you are never revealed.
But i won't march again on your battlefield."
And he took her to the window to see.
"Sometimes i feel like you're the worst off out of all of us. You're so lonely, you've always been lonely, and that's why you cling so desperately to us. And that's why… Akito. Come with me?"
And the sun, it was gold, though the sky, it was grey
And she wanted more than she ever could say.
But she knew how it frightened her, and she turned away
And would not look at his face again.
"I can't. This is where i belong. And you'll stay too." She said this as a statement of fact, as if there was no reason why it should be different.
He said, "I want to live as an honest man,
To get all i deserve, and to give all i can,
And to love a young woman who i don't understand.
Your Highness, your ways are very strange."
He shook his head. "I won't. Akito, i'm sorry. It's all too much. I want to forget all this. I want to be ordinary."
"That's impossible," Akito said flatly.
"I know. But i want it anyway. And i think i might have a chance. An ordinary life… You can't say you're not tempted by that."
She couldn't even imagine it. Life as an ordinary woman? With Shigure? She did want it. She did want it, but…
"Come with me, Akito. I promise i'll take good care of you. I can make good money with my writing."
She tried to turn away. "Be serious."
"I am serious," he insisted, grabbing her hand. "I want to start a new life with you. I love you, Akito."
But the crown it had fallen, and she thought she would break.
She stood there, ashamed of the way her heart ached.
She took him to the doorstep and she asked him to wait.
She would only be a moment inside.
Akito was silent. She closed her mouth, which had somehow opened. She considered this for a long moment.
"Akito?" Shigure prompted gently.
"You absolutely won't stay?" she asked in a small voice.
"No. I just can't… i can't do this anymore. Please…"
Her face was closed off. "You're right," she said tonelessly. "There's only one way. To leave. Somewhere beyond the curse."
Shigure smiled – honestly, for once. "You do understand! You'll come?" His relief was tangible.
Akito returned the smile, but her heart wasn't in it. "I understand perfectly. She hesitated. "I have things i need to get ready."
"Do you need any help?" offered Shigure.
"No. Just… wait here for me. I won't be long." She stepped back from the door and closed it. Shutting her eyes, she leaned against the door and took a deep breath. She had to do this.
Fighting back the muddle of her emotions, she walked down the hall. Finding a particular door, she stopped. "Kureno," she said.
Her personal assistant got up from where he had been doing paperwork. She didn't look at him. "Yes, Akito?" he asked.
"Kill him," she said, her voice empty.
"What?"
"Kill him. Now." She started back to her room, leaving nothing behind but the assurance that her order would be carried out. And maybe, just maybe, she left a piece of her heart as well.
It was dark in her room. Akito sat down on her bed without turning on the light. She curled into a ball, her knees hugged to her chest and her head bowed.
A single gunshot rang out.
Out in the distance her order was heard
And the soldier was killed, still waiting for her word.
And while the queen went on strangling in the solitude she preferred
The battle continued on.
A/N: It's been a long time since i've read or watched Fruits Basket, so please forgive me if anyone's OOC. (I'm pretty sure Shigure is...) But i got attacked by the plotbunny while my guard was down, so i had to write it.