Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Fruits Basket.
What does it take to set the Sohmas free after Akito's death?
A/N: 16 reviews… equals… happy author!
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The Puppet Master's Last Testament
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Chapter Sixty: The Weeks After
Shigure was sorry. But it was too late. Fate was unforgiving, so unforgiving. He was just a little speck in the universe - alone.
Sleepless nights.
Miserable mornings.
Aching afternoons.
This cycle of hopelessness. It was torture.
Shigure woke late in the morning, four days later. He was tangled in his bed, nude. He was sore just remembering he had performed such a sickening act. He had been, every morning since, reliving the pain. The dead silence in the room now was nauseating. There was no sound of running water in the kitchen sink, or a whistling kettle. There were no sounds of melodic humming or footsteps outside his door.
His heart pounded steadily at the thought that maybe she hadn't left. No, no one was that naïve. He had yelled at her. He had bruised her. He had stolen something sacred of hers. No one would forgive him.
He got off his bed and walked upstairs. He knocked her door. Nothing. He took a deep breath before pushing the door open. Everything was in its place. The bed sheets were replaced with clean ones, and the blanket was folded into a neat square at the bottom of the bed. But Tohru was missing. He threw open her closet. Her clothes were gone.
She had really left. His eyes gazed around the room, looking for any sign of what…? What had he expected? For her to leave a letter saying that she still loved him and would be back in a few days?
The door to the bathroom was ajar. His heart pounded. The last place he had seen her. Left her. The light inside was dim. There was only a small window. He saw a blemish on the white marble tiles. It was a deep red. A drop of blood. His heart clenched. His little flower had bleed. It could have been a scratch he gave her, or she had bumped into something accidentally while she ran blindly. But she was no longer his. She was gone. His fingers tingled as he ripped a piece of toilet paper to wash away the blood. He remembered when she had slipped in the shower. He had come into the flooded bathroom and nearly fainted at the sight of her, battered and bloodied in the tub.
Now, he was heartbroken and miserable. His eyes stung. His ears rang. And it was all his own doing. Nothing that wonderful could last forever. The good things had come so slowly, he hadn't even loved her at first, but she grew on him. He wanted to see her in the morning, washing dishes. He wanted to help her in the garden. He felt jealously when she was with another man, or even just speaking to him. He wanted to make her proud. If someone were to call him sick, he couldn't disagree. It was so wrong.
He saw in the hamper the shirt she had worn last night. There was vomit. Yellow and stomach-turning. What have I done?
He grasped the edge of the sink and heaved. There was nothing. His throat was as dead as his once-aching heart. Now, his heart was numb.
Memories of last night flooded his mind. Why had she not told him he was being a moron? She just let him insult her, degrade her. He remembered the way her soft hands touched his chest, wanting him, yet he pushed her away. He was a bastard. He had felt her shiver under him, but he didn't care. He was desperate, indifferent, and inconsiderate. He fucking loved her, he was attracted to her, yet he hurt her. Akito had not even told him to deflower her or anything that sick. He wanted it. That was his poor, twisted idea. To have her in every sense, before letting her go.
He forced himself to leave the room. He went to the living room couch. He leaned his head against the arm.
I wonder if the curse is gone. I can't find out anyways (or have Hatori erase the 'victim's' mind), without exposing the Sohmas. She was the only one who knew the secret…
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That evening, he sat on the roof. Unknowingly, he was waiting for her return. The sky was blood-orange, with violet streaks. The violet color reminded him of the bruises on her arm. Made by yours truly.
He was back to his life not worth living. No one loved him. Shigure entered the dark depths of his mind. His father… his mother…
He was alone. Only this time, he had created his own demise.
He took the crumpled letter out of his front pocket. He read the spidery scrawl under the darkening sky. His right eye twitched.
I doubt you will ever understand the extent of my love. I can truthfully say I felt it with you. It encompassed hate, passion, jealousy, adoration. Every touch, every soft word, every joke—sent a shiver to my heart. At first, I only thought of you as a brother. You held me in your strong arms when I fell off the oak tree and cried. I hit you and told you it was your fault that I fell, but you held me. You teased me when I had by first period. You told me it was God's way of punishing me. I always believed you. You stayed in bed with me when I was sick, not afraid of contracting the flu yourself. You tickled me and told me stories. This relationship grew into something more. You taught me about 'the bees and the birds', and you were a great 'teacher'. I came to you when everyone else despised me, talked behind my back, and didn't do as I told them. I listened to your twisted stories. I watched your animated gestures as you described your latest plan for a novel. I felt your affection, and I was so happy. For once, I was happy. Until you slept with Ren, allowed that dull high school girl into your house, and went on your so-called business trips (when they were actually trips to the city harems). I felt betrayed.
Fuck you.
I knew that as a woman, I would never be able to fulfill your insatiable sexual appetite, but I thought that as your God, you would at least stay faithful to me. I cringed when you came to my bed in the middle of the night, with the smell of another woman's perfume radiating off your body. My stomach turned when I say nail marks on your arms and unblemished back. It was especially disgusting when we had sex. I tried to tell you so many times, but you told me they were mere flings, and that you loved me. My heart would say 'believe him!', but my mind would say 'it's a lie'. I was so young, I believed you every time. I wanted you to myself. Didn't you once promise me that you would stay by my side forever? My heart broke. The doctor called it 'coronary artery calcification', but it isn't.
I think of myself as that Greek mythology character, Echo. She loved Narcissus. She finally confessed, but was rejected. He didn't return her love, and she slowly disappeared until only her voice was left. Like her, I disappeared, Shigure. You may have not literally rejected me, but through you actions, you did. Now, you are asking, what does that have to do with me? Well, Narcissus, everything.
You are the supposed loyal, faithful servant of the God, but as the curse revealed to me around the time I got really sick, you were destined to be fickle and selfish. Now: the curse. You and all the fucking pets want out of the curse, right? I tried to 'scare' everyone into wanting to stay by me, but I failed at that, like everything else in life. Contrary to what everyone may think, I cared about you all. So, that's why I'm revealing how to finish the 'game' and rid the curse.
First off, the God has to die. Done, that's out of the way. Secondly, the dog (servant) must fall in utter, absolute love and devotion with a non-Sohma female. The relationship must be real – with love (that stupid word). The female must know about the male's Juunishi form. It must end with copulation or catharsis. Lastly, the dog must dump the female… the last and final phase. The story goes like this: There was once a God. His servant was a young and handsome boy who he found in a basket in the shore of a river. The boy was a great hunter, bringing his master food. He was loyal, but the God had reservations. The God found out that the boy was a descendent of a long line of human hunters. They were relentless warriors, killing whoever they wanted. Like a dog is a descendent of the wolf and wolves are known to betray – even when they are domesticated, they will harm their owners. The God placed a spell on the boy. If he was ever to do any harm to the God, he would have a curse put on him for generations. All his relatives would be affected. That curse involved turning into animals when touched. There will never be any affection with other beings. It will involve interbreeding to protect the descendents from the outside world. The boy was loyal to his master for many years. But accidentally a poisonous organism got into a plate of food one day. The God died and the curse began. Shigure, you must say these words when you end the relationship:
I don't love you Tohru. Our relationship was just a game to get you into bed with me. Please don't take this to heart. I don't want to see you again, and please, don't burden any of your woes on any of the Sohmas. We have enough problems to deal with. This is a good-bye.
You must say it with conviction, as though it were a pact. You are going to get rewarded for tainting a virgin. Use your imagination, my little author. You will forever be bound to me. When you taint her, you will see me; remember me. See, you can never be free from me, my pet. You broke my heart, now it's time for your demise. Soon after, the curse should be removed, if you followed every step correctly and responsibly.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. I'm here to correct my mistakes.
And scribbled at the bottom, small and spidery: I've always loved you.
His body was about to explode into smithereens. He was emotionless. Void.
He did not leave his bed, except for water and peeing. Food made him want to puke. He couldn't move either, because everything in the house reminded him of her. He replayed the night, just to torture himself. He had never been so vile and fanatical with a girl. She had struggled, tried to move away from him. She had wanted him to slow down. He hadn't listened. He pushed her away. He had fucking ground into her like an uncontrolled animal. He kissed her, stuck his greedy tongue down her throat, that fucking hole waiting, wanting him. He wished she wasn't so trusting. He wished she had slapped him out of the nightmare. It was his undoing though; he wanted her one last time. Completely. Infinitely. He had been her first, boyfriend, lover, predator, whatever you wanted to call her. He probably ruined her. She would hate men, never want to be with another man. He had been her first. At least he had that knowledge. Utmost disturbing and satisfying.
He missed her so badly.
He wanted to pick up the phone and call her and tell her how sorry he was, put his heart out of the line. Apologize. Grovel. She could decide if she was ready to come back, which was probably never. He was so bitter; his heart ached, though he knew it was probably for the best. The Sohmas would be rid of the curse. And he would return to his monotonous life, alone and lost, confused and wretched.
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They had been separated for eighteen days, two hours, and twenty-one minutes.
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A/N: How did Akito know Tohru was the chosen one? Dun-dun. Also, take note that the letter didn't really say anything about Shigure having to 'deflower' Tohru… Reviews are welcome. Thank you for all the lovely reviews. You don't know how much I love to read them.
22kisa22: The interludes are supposed to reflect Shigure's state of mind. The most recent one shows how happy he was, but also the hesitation he felt (because he knew he was lying to her).
Ayjah: I agree!
Botan and Kurama lover: Thanks for the review!
XOiHeartMiloOX: Thanks so much. Glad you like the interludes!
kouga's older woman: You will see...:)
CamiUchiha: You got the idea of the interlude exactly! Thanks for the lovely review!
Jaffa-Cake-Queen: too much suspense is bad for a person...haha, I agree. .
avidlydreaming: THANKS!
sonata hirano: Fast update!
LibraryLady08: Yes, the interlude's Ruhi is a reflection of Tohru - it was my intention. :)
Parasite Eve: Muwhahahahahaha.
Nikki-4: You shall, my dear. Thanks for wishing me a fantastic week, you too!!
kiwadoi seiitsu: YAY!
Chi-Hime: Thanks new reader! Sorry for making you want to cry (but that means the story is sad, and I love that!!)
Running to my Heart: Yes the couple in the interludes is a reflection of Tohru and Shigure. You're welcome for writing. Thank you for reading and reviewing!!
Tenma-kun: Thanks! I forgive you for not reviewing, dear. :)
