Chapter Nine: Spring

Title: Mirrors of the Past

Summary: See previous chapters.

Disclaimer: As said before, I don't own Ayame or Fruits Basket. Only the story is mine.

Warnings: Lots of cuteness and fluffy stuff. Beware the fluff!

Chapter Notes: Aaya seems to be doing much better in life, thanks to his buddies Shigure and Hatori! However, the poor little snake is still left in the dark, thanks to Hitomi's hatred, but suppose that someone else appears to pull him from the shadows. And new feelings that Ayame didn't know he had begin to awaken. Oh! And as of now, every season has presented itself inside this story! And I find it necessary to point out that this chapter isn't really that pivotal to the story...or maybe it is, ha ha. I mainly wrote it for fun, but I'll try to squeeze it into something important later on. Okay...I'll shut up now. Enjoy!

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Winter had died at last, and spring had taken its place. The white snow that blanketed the ground each morning had melted, and the grass, once brown, had turned green with life. The snow had also been silenced by a rain of pale-pink cherry blossoms, and the petals that drifted within the breeze rested gracefully upon Ayame's silver hair, much to his annoyance.

He lightly brushed his bangs away from his eyes. The stillness of the spring atmosphere had also been easy to notice. Aside from him, there were only a few other people within the park he had entered, which came as a surprise. And his ghostlike footsteps and the hissing breeze through the sakura only intensified this observation. It was as if time had frozen still – even the stream nearby seemed to stop flowing – and he was the only one who knew this. It was a heavy feeling that made Ayame feel more lost than ever.

No more than a moment later, Ayame's golden eyes flashed in frustration. Not true…I'm not lost. …Right?

Suddenly, a blur of motion appeared within his vision. Turning, Ayame was quick to notice the figure of a person running towards him at a surprising speed…a person whom he quickly realized was a girl. The circumstances became clear at this point, and with a frantic impulse, he stepped backwards off the path, dodging just in time to hear a heavy thud on the ground.

All was silent within the spring atmosphere as Ayame gazed at the smaller figure lying in a heap before him. A sense of guilt instantly filled his mind, despite that he knew what would've happened had he stopped her, and he hesitantly held out his hand towards her. "…Excuse me…do you need some help?"

A moment later, a light rustle was heard as the girl slowly pushed herself onto her knees. Noticing Ayame's presence beside her, she blinked curiously and turned towards him, looking into his yellow-tinted irises.

The very second her eyes, which were the color of dark chocolate, met his gaze, Ayame nearly fell back in shock when a strange sensation shot through his chest. His heart began to thump loudly inside his head, but this was the least of his worries; it was difficult for him to not notice the warmth creeping up on his cheeks or the clouding dizziness growing within his mind. The unknown impression was beginning to make him feel ill, yet it was also a feeling that made him feel comforted and safe from darkness. Yet it hurt…as if he was being crushed by an invisible weight only inside his mind.

He was suddenly pulled from his daze as he felt a hand touch his lightly, and he blinked in time to see a bright, shining smile upon the girl's face. He instantly felt his face flush again, and he quickly stood up and helped her get to her feet, turning away as if bored.

She lightly brushed off the front of her skirt before adjusting her round glasses upon her nose. Turning towards Ayame, she smiled and piped, "Sorry for almost running into you. Thank you for helping me up!" Judging by her round face and chirpy voice, she was around five or six years old.

"…It's fine. No problem," Ayame quietly replied. He made a move to leave, but he stopped when she suddenly ran beside him.

"Hey, wait!" the girl cried. "What's your name?"

"…Ayame."

"Ayame?" the girl repeated before smiling again. "That name's pretty. It sounds like the flower," she added with wonder in her eyes ("ayame" is Japanese for "iris"). "My name's Mine Kuramae. It's nice to meetcha!" As the silver-haired boy simply nodded in reply, Mine peered at him and asked, "Are you all by yourself?"

It's almost like I can't breathe. "Uh…yeah," Ayame replied, trying to clear his mind of the annoying fog that was starting to invade it. Now that he was fully focused, curiosity was starting to take hold of him. "…You're by yourself too, aren't you?" he asked.

"Not really," Mine replied. "My big sister Naru is somewhere near here, but she's talking to somebody on the phone, so she let me go off on my own." The silver-haired boy gave a simple nod in understanding.

Ayame suddenly noticed Mine's thoughtful stare, but she spoke before he could ask her if anything was wrong. "I think being all alone is kinda boring, don't you?" the dark-haired girl asked as a faint breeze caused her two braided pigtails to sway lightly.

Shigure said something like that when we first met, the snake thought passively. "…I guess so," he answered, feeling the same breeze blow several petals in his direction. He shook his head to remove them from his silver hair, and they fell gently to the ground.

"Hey! I got an idea!" Mine suddenly exclaimed, and she began to suddenly jump in excitement, much to Ayame's surprise. "You can be my friend! That would be fun!"

"…" For what felt like the one-hundredth time within the past few minutes, Ayame felt his cheeks turn wine-red with blush. He felt like running away and leaving her behind, but he didn't. No…it was as if he didn't want to.

Mine seemed to notice his apparent unease, for she tilted her head and asked," Is something wrong?" Ayame was quick to shake his head and say that no, everything was fine, he just felt sick for some reason. And this wasn't far from the truth.

"Okay!" the dark-haired girl chirped as her tiny hand touched his lightly. "Hey, I know! We could go check out this—" As suddenly as she had started, Mine fell silent, her large eyes blinking curiously at Ayame's pale (yet flushed) face.

The silver-haired boy's yellow irises mirrored the same questioning stare. "Um…what's wrong?" he asked quietly.

A second later, Mine's small hands were carefully inching towards the sides of his face, and Ayame instantaneously flinched in surprise. However, he didn't seem to move quickly enough, for he instantly felt the cool temperature of her hands upon his silky hair. His face instantly flooded with warmth, and as much as he wanted to escape this mysterious sick feeling he was drowning in, he was frozen. Frozen in place like an ice statue, unable to move.

And suddenly, his vision seemed a lot clearer than it did when he first got here. He blinked towards the sky and the sakura trees in faint confusion, and then he turned and saw Mine's smile light up like a firefly.

"You're so cute when your bangs aren't hanging in your eyes!" she said as her dark brown eyes twinkled behind her glasses. Amusingly enough, she had parted the snake's bangs with both of her hands, causing the shield of silky platinum hair to look like a stage curtain before a play. A silver-white stage curtain that revealed to her two sun-colored amber irises lined by shadow-casting eyelashes.

Ayame blushed heavily as his heartbeat continued to flutter rapidly. Not just because the shield that concealed his eyes had been rendered useless, but because Mine's tiny hands were the ones that held back the pale strands, and her eyes were so large and sparkling and full of life. And her smile was so…

He turned away slowly, allowing his bangs to fall back in place as he stifled a bout of nervous laughter. …CUTE.

Luckily for him, Mine didn't seem to notice his reaction. Instead, she lightly tugged Ayame's sleeve, causing him to turn around. "You know, there's a creepy graveyard that's behind those trees," she chirped, gesturing towards a row of sakura trees nearby. "We should go check it out! I heard it's haunted."

He remained silent as a sweat-drop slowly ran down the side of his head. An old cemetery…I thought most people tried to avoid those places, he thought with an ill feeling.

However, Mine's chirpy voice disrupted his thoughts. Before he could respond, she grabbed his hand, her brown irises dancing in excitement as she added, "Come on! Let's go!" Within a second she and Ayame had long left the petal-flecked pavement, their running footsteps echoing distantly within the park's silence.

As the springtime scenery began to go by in slow motion, Ayame could only remain silent as he gazed at the cheerful girl's silhouette in front of him. And noted how warm her hand felt around his. The redness instantly returned for the billionth time to his cheeks, and he lightly put his free hand to his forehead, concerned. Just as he thought. Warm.

…What the heck is wrong with me? he asked himself as the breeze caused his hair to fly in milky strands about his face. More importantly…why did he feel so scared of being near her…and yet so comforted that darkness seemed out of reach?

*****

"…Wow…look at how creepy it looks," a suddenly-rigid Mine spoke quietly.

"…I can see why people think it's haunted," Ayame quietly added as a shiver ran down his spine. The two children stood before a small, worn cemetery that lay just behind the cherry blossom trees dotting the stream. It was apparent that where the sakura didn't fall, the park ended, giving way to a gray background of woods and trees with warped limbs. All the two could do was stare at the rows of small gravestones, some toppled, some barely upright, and crumbling angel statues before their eyes in silent nervousness. Nearby, a raven cried, adding to the ominous details that made the area so…well, ominous.

Okay…this is definitely not the spot I would've chosen to come to, Ayame thought with a shudder. He felt a cool wind caress his face, and within its hiss a faint whispering sound that caused him to shudder again. With a shake of his head, he hurriedly gazed down at the withered grass. It's only your head, this place isn't haunted….

Suddenly, he felt something grasp the soft white fabric of his shirt, and he turned to see a shivering Mine clutching his sleeve, her large eyes wide and searching as she huddled up to him. "I'm kind of scared, Ayame-kun…" she squeaked, turning her head swiftly when she heard a branch snap nearby. She chuckled shakily. "Only a bird!"

The silver-haired boy felt his hair stand on end as he looked at the branch on the ground (what bird?), but the thought was lost as he found himself staring at the tiny hand curled into his sleeve. He didn't say anything, just watched as its owner looked around in unease, curling her fingers into it tighter. Normally, he would've said something about how her hold on his sleeve was making him skittish…why was he so speechless now?

"Um…maybe we should sit down or something," Ayame suggested quietly. Pushing all thoughts of any unwanted entities away from his mind, he sat down on the soft grass. When he heard a rustle beside him, he knew that Mine had sat down as well.

For a moment, all was silent as petals fell within the graveyard, brightening the gray with a velvet pink hue. Despite the beauty of the spring scenery, Ayame felt strangely anxious. This beauty had rendered all but a softly-humming Mine sitting beside him silent. While serene, the calmness seemed incredibly nerve-wracking to the eight-year-old.

Ironically enough, Mine's voice broke the silence instantly. "So, why is your hair like that?" she asked curiously. The dark-haired girl studied Ayame's silver tresses closely, and she felt tempted to hold it between her fingers and see if it was as soft as it looked.

Ayame, knowing he couldn't tell her the real reason behind his abnormally-colored hair and eyes, studied a strand idly. "I don't know," he said. "It's been this color ever since I was born. Same for my eyes." Noticing Mine's questioning stare, he couldn't help but smile. "Pretty weird, huh?" he asked with a laugh.

"No!" Mine exclaimed, startling him. He stared into her hazelnut eyes with confusion. "I don't think your hair looks weird at all," she added, shaking her head. Noticing how surprised Ayame appeared at that statement, Mine smiled and added, "I think it's really neat! I wish I had cool hair like that."

Yet again, more blush. "…Um…thank—"

Suddenly, something struck him before he could say another word. A new curiosity had risen within his mind, as silently and as quickly as the stealthiest of predators closing in on its prey. Without a word, he deserted any present thoughts, unaware of Mine's voice asking what was wrong. "…Mine-san?"

The dark-haired girl instantly turned towards his voice. "What is it?" she asked. "And it's Mine-chan. You're my friend, right?"

No use stopping it now. The words were forming. In a soft voice that was nearly taken away by the wind, the silver-haired boy turned and asked, "…If you knew someone who had a curse, what would you think?"

Mine's eyes blinked in confusion. A curse? What did he mean? She began to ask him, but no sound came out when she found herself looking into a pair of darkened amber orbs. Why does he have that look in his eyes? "…I don't understand," she admitted.

Ayame remained quiet for a moment, feeling the darkness of inner demons coming to life within his head. He couldn't stop them. "If somebody you knew turned into…an animal or something like that, just because you hug them. Would you hate them?"

Silence was the reply, as Mine appeared to be lost in thought, but the dark-haired girl glanced up with an answer at last. With a perky smile, she replied, "If it was a person I really liked, I would still like them. I don't think it would matter what they were!" She suddenly paused, then smiled crookedly. "But if they turned into an animal whenever I hugged them…that would make me feel kinda sad. 'Cause I couldn't show them that I liked them."

The silver-haired boy absorbed her thoughts heavily, feeling a heavy rush of something dark and bittersweet flood his mind. "…Even if what they turned into was something really weird?" He paused. "Like a snake?"

Mine blinked before answering. A snake? That's sorta creepy. But still… "Yep!" she piped. "I'd still think they were the greatest person ever, no matter what they were."

Ayame knew he had his answers, but somehow it wasn't enough. "…But you would have to feel afraid or sad somehow. You wouldn't always be happy around that person, right? You'd feel upset, angry, or frightened by them, wouldn't you?" The little girl only stared at him as he looked up at her, a barely-noticeable smile of inner pain upon his pallid features. "…Maybe even sickened?"

Mine found it difficult to bring herself to speak the moment her gaze fell upon those golden eyes once again. To her, the yellow irises resembled cracked mirrors reflecting her image, and within these cracked mirrors she could see the sentiments within his heart. Emotions of darkness, hurt, and rejection, ones that made her feel as if she was drowning within pools of gold her, it felt almost…scary.

"…I might be a little bit scared at first," the little girl finally began, forcing herself to turn away from the serpent-like eyes that seemed to go right through her. "But if there was some way that I could take away their sadness, then I would!" She got no reply. Curious, she turned towards Ayame and asked, "Why did you want to know?"

The little girl fell silent when she noticed a smile upon Ayame's face. It was the first one she'd seen on him since they'd met. "…I was just wondering," he replied warmly.

Mine smiled broadly. For some reason, she was more than glad to be in this boy's company; he wasn't loud and obnoxious like all the others that she knew, and it was nice to be with someone quieter for a change. On top of that, she had never thought that a boy could be so pretty! His silver hair and ivory skin – even that smile – made his golden eyes more beautiful, and she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter whenever she looked at him. She counted her lucky stars in gratitude and felt glad that she had befriended this mysterious soul.

Ayame couldn't help but feel the same way. Most children would be running about on the playground or splashing each other in the stream nearby, but he was sitting beside a girl he had known for nearly an hour. In a graveyard, no less. Yet somehow, Ayame was having a great time. Although the two of them didn't speak or move for a while, he was having fun. Maybe it was because Mine was so friendly and easy to talk to.

However, he knew that all things came to an end, and the warm feeling slowly began to wear away thanks to the awkward silence. Determined to keep it alive, Ayame branched out a topic of conversation. "So…why is this graveyard haunted?" he asked as his golden eyes flickered apprehensively among the crumbling stones. He knew it was a dumb question; anyone who set their eyes on this place would be able to venture a guess or two.

Mine's smiling visage faded to a mirrored expression of the ivory-skinned boy. "Well…someone said that there was a lady who was gonna get married in the woods, but her groom never showed up…so she went to look for him and he suddenly jumped out with a knife in his hand! And he stabbed her and killed her and buried her somewhere in here." The dark-haired girl paused to swallow her apparent uneasiness. "So now she haunts this place looking for him so that she can get back at him…"

Ayame felt a shiver run down his spine as he grew more frozen than the cracked angel statues nearby. "Uh…really?" If there was one thing (other than Shigure's boredom) that frightened Ayame, it was ghost stories.

"Uh-huh," Mine answered with a shaky tone. "And even in the daytime, she shows up when people who really like each other are around." And the very second she spoke these words, her face paled beyond all recognition as her wide brown eyes stared towards a fixed point beside one of the graves. "Like…RIGHT NOW…!"

"WHAT?! Where?!"

Ayame instantly felt a colliding pain upon his forehead, and he opened his eyes in to find out what had happened…and froze. When he had turned his head to see what Mine was pointing at, he hadn't expected to suddenly hit his head against something…or end up in his current situation. It was similar to a scene he remembered seeing on the shows Hitomi often watched; after two people confessed their love, they neared closer and to one another until their lips touched for a little while. It was something that a child like him didn't understand…only that it was something adults did to proclaim their undying compassion for each other (ick!). An action that bonded two people together by some unseen force and set out the path for their journey together.

It was an act of love, of something he hardly understood. For easy-to-guess reasons.

And yet, here he was in the same situation. When he opened his eyes, he found himself staring into Mine's wide, curious orbs, which were just centimeters away from his. The two of them were so close together that Ayame could feel the coolness of Mine's forehead against his bangs, closer to her than what was comfortable. But what struck Ayame the most was that he couldn't breathe. For his and Mine's lips were touching.

Time had frozen as solid as ice over a lake…so did Ayame. ...Kiss...?!

Instantly, he and Mine backed away gagging and struggling for breath. As Ayame inhaled breaths of fresh air, his face flushed darker than ever before. At the moment his mind was racing and trampling over itself like an elephant stampede, erasing all the sounds surrounding him except for his pounding heart. The shock from the event became too much for him, and his flushed face instantly became drained of its ivory shade at the memory.

Mine soon noticed. "Eek! You don't look so good, Ayame-kun!" she cried, her brown eyes widening. "Your face is all white! Well, it was white already, but still…that's not good! Are you okay? You look like you're about to throw up!"

The suddenly-ill Ayame noted at how good Mine was at stating the obvious. He also noticed that she was good at talking…a lot. "I'm okay," he answered in a fragile tone. He managed to force a weak smile and added, "Really…I'm perfectly fine!" Why the heck am I getting so sick all of a sudden? That was completely on accident!

"You are not fine!" came the frantic reply. Mine clenched her fists together tightly as she asked, "Do you need some water? Something to eat? What can I do?!"

"Nothing, I told you I'm okay…" I wish. I don't even know why I feel so weird.

The dark-haired girl didn't listen as her face suddenly brightened with an idea. "I know what will help!"

Ayame turned his head slightly when Mine's movement caught his attention. She sat down beside him and gingerly set his head in her lap, earning a startled reaction from the ailed snake. However, she quickly subdued him with a thump to his shoulder. "My sister always does this when I'm not feeling good," she told him with a sunlight-conquering smile. "Whenever she does, I feel better right away!"

The silver-haired boy didn't reply. He felt incredibly odd, yet he could care less. There was something within Mine's action that kept him shielded from his dark memories…it was almost as if he was resting in the lap of an angel in white. It made him feel safe and cared for in this spring-fragrant world of cherry blossoms and quiet solace. His sable eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly's wings when a cool breeze swayed his silver hair, and he became unaware that Mine was stroking it like a cat. To him it felt…motherly.

"Any better?" Mine asked cheerfully.

"…Sure."

The sakura petals floating lazily upon the air and the stillness of the air had made him feel lonely. It was as if time had frozen still – even the stream nearby seemed to have stopped flowing – and he was the only one alive to feel that way. Such a feeling was one that had made Ayame feel more lost than ever.

Maybe I'm not so lost after all. As the snake slowly felt his sickness giving way to serenity, his head remaining at rest in Mine's lap, a second thought passed through his mind. …There's no way I'm ever telling Shigure about this.

*****

"...And when I told him there was a thumbtack in his chair, he had already sat down and didn't hear me. Then he started running in circles and making these crazy noises for several minutes. He still thinks I didn't tell him on purpose."

"Haha!" Mine laughed cheerily, gently clutching her aching sides. "You're really good at telling funny stories, Ayame-kun!"

The silver-haired boy flushed and laughed sheepishly. "I'm not so sure about that," he responded.

Mine giggled once more and chimed, "I think you are! Especially when you told me the one about - "

A second later, she heard her name being called and glanced through the sakura. It wasn't Ayame…he was too close nearby. The only other person Mine could think of was her older sister, Naru. As she glimpsed the shape of someone waving at her through the petals, she smiled and waved back. "Onii-chan!"

Ayame turned as a teenage girl with short brown hair appeared within a short distance from the graveyard. Judging by what Mine had called her, she was the elder sister that she had mentioned. Shyness instantly overtook him, and as Mine ran to Naru with an excited expression, he slipped into a nearby cluster of sakura.

"It's time to go, Mine-chan," Naru told her little sister with a smile. When the little girl sighed, she asked, "What's that for? Were you having fun?" The older girl suddenly noticed her eerie surroundings and let her face fall. "By yourself? And in a graveyard, of all places…"

"I wasn't by myself!" Mine objected. "I was here with my new friend."

Naru stared at her for the longest before a movement caught her attention. She pointed at the sakura nearby and asked, "You mean that little girl sneaking off in those trees?"

Ayame exhaled, knowing he'd been spotted.

He suddenly jumped when Mine appeared by his side with the cheerful smile he had come to recognize. "Why are you hiding?" she asked with a silly edge. "Come and meet my sister! Don't be so afraid!" If Ayame was going to say something, she didn't give him the chance, for she grabbed his hand and pulled him from the shadows of the sakura and towards Naru. As the older girl smiled at the ghostly-silent boy, she chirped, "This is Ayame-kun! We've been exploring the graveyard ever since we got here."

Naru's smile broadened, and she lightly ruffled his long silver hair. "So this is why you don't want to leave. She's so cute!" she remarked in a song-like voice.

Mine instantly turned with a glare. "Onii-chan! That's so rude! He's a boy!" To this point, Ayame had been quiet due to his shyness, and now he was going to keep it that way.

Naru remained silent as a deep red blush slowly crept up on her cheeks. "I-I'm sorry…" she said, forcing a light-hearted laugh. "I'm really sorry…I just thought that…"

Ayame smiled as a sweat-drop appeared on his head. "It's okay. I get that a lot."

Why wouldn't he?! Naru allowed the thought to drop and turned towards Mine. "We should get going, kid. Mom's probably wondering where we are now." Turning back towards Ayame, she smiled and said, "Thanks for keeping my sister company all this time." In a quieter tone, she added, "It's good to know that Mine hasn't been playing with an imaginary friend today. She usually doesn't have friends to play with."

Ayame fell silent before nodding. …I see. She must be alone a lot, too.

"I hope she wasn't a hassle," Naru continued jokingly.

As he noticed Mine turn her head in surprise, Ayame couldn't help but smile. "It wasn't easy, but I made it."

"You two are so mean!" Mine huffed as Naru laughed. She quickly recovered, however, and said, "You go ahead, Onii-chan. I need to tell Ayame something."

Naru nodded and was gone in an instant. Once she had vanished, Mine turned towards Ayame and lightly pecked his porcelain cheek. The snake froze once again, golden eyes flickering, before feeling his cheeks grow hot with blush for the millionth time that day.

"I had a lot of fun just being around you," Mine said with a smile. Her brown eyes twinkled with innocence as she said this, and Ayame flushed once more with a nod. She giggled at the sight of his embarrassed expression and added, "So…this is for you!"

The snake looked up as Mine took his hand, opened it, and laid something upon its surface. In his hand was a pale pink cherry blossom still attached to its stem, its velvety petals giving off a sweet-smelling fragrance. His golden eyes took in its shape with a faint stir of confusion, but it faded into realization the longer he looked at it. He barely noticed Mine beaming in front of him as another blush overtook his face, and he shyly looked towards her. "…Thanks."

Mine's cheeks turned a faint shade of pink when she saw the smile that appeared across the silver-haired boy's features. It was a smile that remained hidden underneath whatever dark emotions danced in his eyes, but emerged and shone as purely as snow on the ground. It made her think of a baby bird stretching its wings for the first time…then flying out of the nest, not to return for a while. She smiled. "No problem."

She looked up and heard Naru calling her, and she turned with a dancer's grace. As she broke into a light run and disappeared through the sakura, she turned to Ayame and called, "I hope we can see each other again!" With a wave and a giggle, the raining petals obscured her form, and she was gone.

Ayame simply stared at the spot where she had vanished through the sakura. He remained silent, his golden irises holding a silent expression of solitude, as he glanced once more at the cherry blossom within his hand. He knew it was only his mind playing tricks, but he heard the faint sound of Mine's cheerful laugh from the pink petals almost instantly.

…I don't want it to die, he thought. I'll find some way to keep it alive once I get home. As a familiar lost breeze swayed his silver hair, he blinked. I'll probably never see her again.

**********

Preview: Well, how peachy. :3 Since it seems like more joy has entered Ayame's life by this point, there's no questioning that he's becoming a happier person. However, is fate still on his side, and will it grant him with the joyful life he's still striving for? Or will things only grow worse for our little snake? Find out in the next chapter!