Title: Waves Never Lie

Synopsis: Kureno decides to go to Arisa's house when he knows that she won't be there, but meets a certain friend of Arisa's on the way, and somehow Saki Hanajima helps him to begin breaking out of the cage that he was locked in. Kureno/Arisa Uotani.

Rating: K+

A/N: I like this. I think it turned out really well. I love Kureno, he's my favorite character from the series and he pretty much amazes me (it also helps that I was born in the year of the Rooster). So please, relax, read and review. Constructive criticism is always welcomed. And I know I took a few liberties with the extend of Hana's wave powers, but hey, I thought it worked very well in this context.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, because if I did Yuki would have thought of Tohru in a little less of a creepy way.

oOo

Kureno always had lived a sheltered life. Before 'it' had happened he had some freedom. He was able to leave every once in awhile and he could leave the cage that he had been forced into every so often.

Then his curse broke and everything changed.

The freedom that he had once enjoyed was gone. He was to go to school each morning, return home each afternoon and stay by Akito's side until the next morning when he would leave for school again. When he graduated from high school he was not allowed to attend university, instead he was immediately forced to be Akito's assistant. Twenty out of twenty-four hours a day were spent with the little girl who needed him more than anyone else.

And he tried to be happy.

Kureno tried to convince himself that this was what he wanted. That this was the life that he was destined for and his place was next to Akito. Every night he was falling asleep telling himself that he was content and that all was right with that world.

Then he met Arisa and it all changed.

Her words made him realize that in reality, he wasn't happy. He was the opposite of happy, unhappy. His life was ruled by Akito and Akito's whims. Meeting Arisa made him realize that he wanted something, and that was to be able to fly once again. And the thing that could give him wings was Arisa, and who she was.

But the problem was that he couldn't leave his cage. He couldn't spread wings again. He loved Arisa, but he couldn't abandon the little girl who had turned to him with tears in her eyes and asked him why he had left her and begged him to stay. He couldn't leave her like that. He could never leave her like that.

That's why he was so surprised when he found himself walking away from the Main House and down unfamiliar streets to an address that was badly written on a scrap of paper given to him by the girl who Akito hated the most.

Kureno wasn't exactly sure where he was going or why. He knew that Arisa wasn't home, it was during school hours, and that even if she was he would just walk away without giving her any trouble, but he wanted to…

"See her?" Kureno jumped. He hadn't known that there was anyone near him, let alone talking to him. He turned around to see a girl with long black hair and black gothic clothing on. Her cape flowed out behind her as if there was a burst of wind going through the area, but it was a windless day. Kureno was slightly alarmed. "That's why you're going, right? You want to see her?" She asked him with a blank expression.

"Um… Yes. How did you know that?" He asked rather confused. Somehow the girl was inside of his head.

Saki Hanajima smiled. "Your waves told me so." She said without much of an explanation. She had been through the explanation before, and no one understood it, so she gave up trying to explain it. Besides, it wasn't essential that this man knew how the waves worked, only that they were there.

Kureno smiled weakly and held the piece of paper that Tohru had given him tightly in his hand. He couldn't stand there and chat. Akito would only be out for a short time longer, and if he was gone when she got back there would be hell to pay. Kureno was sure that Akito suspected that something was up, and he didn't need to add fuel to Akito's fire.

"Your waves also tell me that there is a great controversy in your life. That you want something that you could have, but you keep yourself from getting it." Her smile faded. "Your waves are very strong. You're in love."

Kureno shook his head with a smile. "No, no I'm not." He said as he turned around to go back to the Sohma estate. "I just made a friend who I won't see again." He began walking away, but stopped. The girl was behind him again.

"Your waves are unsettled. You ought to fix that." Hanajima grabbed his hand and plucked the piece of paper out of it. "Tohru's map is horrible as usual." She said as she glanced at the piece of paper for a moment. "You should be on the next street over." Hanajima pointed to the right. "Then then turn right and it's a straight shot to her apartment." She put the piece of paper back in Kureno's hands. "Arisa misses you… Kureno Sohma."

The shock that hit Kureno was like that of a train speeding into him. "How do you…?" He began to ask, but was silenced by the sly smile that grew on the girl's face.

"The waves told me so. They also told me that you and I will meet again, and sooner than you would expect." With those final words she turned around, her black cape billowing out behind her.

Kureno was left awestruck. He could only stand there and watch as the girl walked away. It wasn't until she had disappeared around a corner that he was really aware of his surroundings again.

He took a deep breath and started to walk in the directions that the girl had told him to go in. And he knew that maybe, just maybe, this was the first step to breaking the cage that he was locked in.

oOo

"I'm beginning to think that it was all just a dream." Uo told Hanajima and Tohru the day after Hana had had the encounter with him. "That he never really existed."

"Why would you think that?" Tohru asked her with a bit of a nervous look on her face. Hana had known for quite some time that Tohru knew and had talked to Kureno, but she would have never admitted that to her friend. But now that she had met Kureno herself she realized why Tohru was reluctant to say anything. He really was a very conflicted man.

"It's a funny story." Uo replied with a smile. "You know how I was out of school yesterday with a fever?" Her two friends nodded their heads in agreement. "Well, I thought I saw him standing outside of my apartment building, looking up at me. I even think we made eye contact for a few seconds, but when I got downstairs to see if it was really him, he was gone." A melancholy smile filled Hana's friend's face. "I was probably delusional. I mean, how would he have even gotten my address?"

"I have no idea." Tohru and Hana responded at the same time, shocking Tohru but leaving Hana with a sly smile. She knew how, and someday she knew that Uo would know too.

That's what the waves told her, and the waves had never lied to her before.