Disclaimers on the characters of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. I don't own them, so don't sue.

Edits: I didn't realize that Kisa and Hatsuharu's age difference was only about 3-4 years until recently. So I had to make minor adjustments. Good gracious me for my mistakes. Haha.

Red,

By Winterwing3000

Red (紅)

Summers were hot in Japan, especially in August, but Kisa didn't mind. The Main House was large and the gardens usually had many trees, which provided cool shade. Okaa-san would doll her up in a summer dress, today's was a hazy blue one with white bubbles all over, and send her outside (with Akito-san's permission of course) to enjoy the fresh air.

She's only 4, but knew more than to disobey her mother. After all, her mother only wanted the best for her. She had no friends, with the exception of the boy who she recently met. Hiro was the ram of the zodiac. He was a nice boy, but somehow she had a feeling that he was sad.

Kisa walked over to the large trees, a book tucked under her arm. She was planning to read her big book; the one that she read over and over many times that she could even recite the storylines herself. Maybe she could play with the butterflies or look at the flowers today, she decided.

The tora child wandered around and found her favorite trees. But today, it looked very different. The white flowers which blossomed prettily last week were no longer there. Instead, there were large round bulbs with green leaves sprouting on the stems holding the bulbs to the branches. Okaa-san sliced one of those for her before. She remembered that they were delicious and very juicy. … Were the pomegranates or apples?

Feeling her mouth water, she placed her book next to the tree trunk and tip-toed, reaching up to the lowest branch, hoping to grab and pluck one down. She jumped a few times and nearly slipped once from the wet grass. Had it rained last night? Kisa didn't notice.

Frowning up at the branch, she made another attempt to grab at it with a determined jump, only to scrape her knee on the rough bark and fall over hardly.

Biting down on her quivering lip, Kisa refrained herself from crying. But tears continued to slip down her face and sobs racked her frame. She sat there on the grass, crying until she heard some rustling behind her. Sniffling, she turned her golden head to stare at the person standing behind her.

He was a tall person. His hair was bi-tonal, white on the top and black near his nape. He had a weird looking shirt and some black pants. But he had kind eyes. She hadn't seen him before at the House, but he must be close to Akito-san because only the Juunishi were allowed to be here. Was he also one of the zodiacs?

He squatted down to his knees so that their eye level was nearly aligned. "What's wrong?" he asked, curious and yet… concerned.

Hiccupping, Kisa blinked tearily at him. Okaa-san said never to talk to strangers, but somehow she felt that she could trust him. "I-I fell. A-and my k-knee hurts." She mumbled shyly.

"Huh…" he glanced up at the tree then back to her. Kisa was confused when he reached up and tugged at the round red bulb. It came off with a 'pop!' and he sat down, cross-legged in front of her. "Here." He said, presenting the apple to her.

She wiped her tears dry, and hesitantly took it from him. Her eyes kept down on her lap with her hands wrapped around the apple. "Thank you." she whispered, a small smile creeping up her lips.

He nodded and watched her intently. Kisa had no idea what he was expecting of her. Maybe her name?

"Uh… my name is Kisa… Sohma." She said almost inaudibly.

"I'm Hatsuharu Sohma." He replied. He paused for a moment. "You're the Tiger, aren't you? You're the only one whom I've never met until now."

She nodded. Then he started to rip a strip of his black shirt and tied it around her scratched knee. Kisa took all of this in with a gaping surprised face. Before she even managed a 'thank you', he walked away.

Later that afternoon, the fruit tasted sweeter than pomegranates.

AN: Wow, my first Furuba fic (and based on colors too)! And although, this idea isn't quite 'adaptable' to many FB fans, I love Hatsuharu/Kisa Sohma to death! They're so cute together and even though some say that Kisa has Hiro and Haru has both Rin and Yuki, I think that Haru and Kisa are very good together. But, review anyway! I'll love it either way, flame or love!