Thank you to my reviewers and followers - you're the guys that give me motivation to write the next chapter :) Also, just so you guys know, classes are starting for me this week, so I'll probably be a little slow on updating. I shall do my best to keep it going though! Thank you for your support~
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters.
Chapter 4
Meltdown
Yuki stared up at the blank ceiling, surrounded by a thin futon. He had spent the night in the small room where Hatori had left him last. The night was long, and he spent it awake. He couldn't even think about sleep, not in this house.
He wasn't in the least bit tired - staying up all night wasn't something uncommon to Yuki. Even if he had wanted to rest, it's hard to go to sleep when you feel like you're already in a nightmare.
Yuki looked around the small room, his amethyst eyes landing on the small window that was placed much too high to see out of. However, it did show the small bit of light coming through from the morning sun. He figured it was about 5:00.
He sat up from his resting place, and spotted his black bag a couple of feet away. Quietly getting up, he reached the bag and searched through it to find a digital watch that he never dare wore (as it WAS given to him by Shigure - who knows what the prankster did to trick it up) and affirmed that it was in fact, 5:02 a.m.
Other than perhaps a few servants, no one in the house would be up at this time.
Yuki didn't particularly fancy stepping outside the safety of his room, but with no one up besides him, it was the perfect opportunity to take a tour of the main house without anyone questioning his intentions.
He didn't really need the tour, but if anything had changed since the last time he was here, he wanted to know so that it wouldn't take him off guard. He wanted to be prepared for living at the main house as much as he could.
And without Akito's assistance.
With a deep intake of breath, Yuki silently opened his door, and went out into the dark hallway. He roamed around quietly, careful not to step on any of the creaking floorboards.
Looking from left to right to make sure no one was around, he took as many details in as he could with the dim lighting-the rest was supplied by his previous memories. Though, it was rather strange looking at his childhood from a different height.
He explored the roomy hallways, passing several rooms with which he had either entered before, or knew who they belonged to. He even walked by the Great Hall, which was used for festivals, such as the New Year's banquet.
He finally stepped before the large kitchen, which seemed to have only a few occupants. The lights were turned on, but it wasn't as noisy as it would be during the late morning. Yuki decided it was time to go back to his room before he had to deal with people.
As he walked back the way he came, he concluded that nothing had changed in the least. The place was well kept, but it was empty and lifeless just as it had been before.
It felt just like it had when he was a kid. Right down to the sense of feeling trapped and hopeless. Perhaps even more so.
Because now he couldn't even dream of having his ray of light being brought back to him.
His stomach plummeted.
The memory of the scent of strawberries fogged his mind, and all he could see was the smile he missed so much.
His heart wrenched at the memory, and he could no longer move. It was agonizingly painful.
Nausea hit him, as his nose tingled signifying him of the fresh tears brimming at his eyes.
Why now?
He had reminisced over her several times and was able to quickly wipe out the thought process before this happened.
But no, he just HAD to have a breakdown, right here where someone would find him.
He closed his eyes in attempt to calm down, but when he did, more images passed behind his eyelids. He balled his fists as he tried to keep his tears from falling.
He felt so childish for crying like this - it had been FOUR years, and nothing could change the fact that her memory was erased. He should just get over it and be happy that she's probably living a better life now.
"Hatori, no, STOP!"
"I can't Yuki, I can't"
His last memory of the girl rung in his ears.
"Yuki, it's...it's okay, I'll come find you again!" The brunette choked with tears in her eyes.
But they both knew that that might not even be possible.
He couldn't control his thoughts - unwanted images brought more tears to his eyes.
He squeezed his eyelids closer together, hoping to block out the screams of his past memories.
Yuki gasped as his muscles released their tension due to something suddenly knocking into his left arm.
Whatever it was, it was soft and warm.
Yuki opened his eyes and cleared his tears from his vision to see a boy with brown hair that covered his face, who only came up to about his armpit. The boy frantically bowed several times in apology (for what Yuki assumed was bumping into him) and ran off without saying a word.
Strange, I don't think I've ever seen that boy around here before.
The Sohmas rarely ever got any new servants, and usually they were a part of the family or knew about the curse. The boy didn't particularly stand out in Yuki's memory, but he did seem familiar. The Sohma's were a large family, so it's not unlikely that they had only met once, and probably very briefly at that.
Well, regardless of who he was, Yuki silently thanked him for bringing him out of his meltdown.
However, while he wasn't reminiscing over past events, he could still slightly smell it - the scent of strawberries was pretty pungent for being a memory.
"Yuki?" A deep voice questioned softly.
Yuki lay on his right arm, facing the wall and relaxing his eyes as he pretended to be asleep.
The doctor heaved a slight sigh. "Yuki, you can drop the act. I know you're awake."
He rolled over to his left so that he could face the stern looking man that was in his doorway.
It was late afternoon, and Yuki had stayed up in his room the entire time since his little walk around the main house. A few times a servant would step in with a meal, only to find Yuki "napping" by the wall.
Only Hatori would have been able to see through his act.
They weren't particularly close, but with as void of emotion as the doctor was, he had a knack for seeing right through Yuki's "mask" that covered his emotions. Apparently he could also tell when Yuki was really sleeping.
And because of that, Yuki normally would allow Hatori to see some of his real pain through his eyes.
Not that he trusted him or anything.
"What is it Hatori?"
"Akito said that you should eat," the doctor replied.
"I'm not hungry."
"He also said that you should get some light and fresh air."
What?
As if to answer the unasked question, Hatori continued, "You haven't eaten all day, and you've been locked up in this room. Akito's being considerate and offering you to walk outside of the Sohma residence."
After a moment of silence, Yuki replied, "Since when has Akito been considerate? What's the real reason behind this?"
Hatori walked over to a small stool in the corner of the otherwise empty room. He sat down and scooted a little closer to the silver headed boy.
"Perhaps Akito has changed a little."
Another moment of silence hung in the air as Yuki repeated the sentence in his head over and over.
"And what makes you think that?" Yuki finally said.
Now it was Hatori's turn to think.
"...He's been more careful lately. He's been trying to make friends."
Make friends?
Yuki sighed, and stood up. He was reluctant to even think that Akito would try to be considerate or make friends. He wasn't sure how to take the information.
"Let's go."
And that's it for today~! Let's see what happens on this little stroll next chapter ;D Please review, I'd love to hear your guys's thoughts! Till next time~
