Chapter 3
I know you
Tohru was at the castle, in her room, eating dinner. It was chicken tonight. She hadn't eaten for a little while. Angry at them all for everything. Every time she passed the dungeon she could hear voices of Sohma's. She could hear Ritsu's mother. Calling out that she was sorry all the time until her voice cracked and she could hardly whisper. Tohru cringed and kept herself from crying as all the familiar voices flooded her hearing.
Tohru shook her head to rid herself of that. She finished her dinner and stood up. She had been told that she could go almost anywhere in the castle... except the upper north wing. She left her plate where it was, she was used to the 'slave' that always came in to take away stuff. Drinks, food, laundry... anything.
Tohru walked out of the room and ran past the dungeons and slowed to a walk when she entered the main room. She sat down on a chair to the side. She sighed and wondered what Kyo was doing.. what everyone was doing.
Her head snapped up as she heard people crossing above her at the top of the stairs. They were all cloaked with the hoods up, and she was used to seeing them every now and then.. actually.. you couldn't get used to anything here.. she just told herself she was used to it..
The person in the middle of this small crowd tripped a bit and their hood fell down. It was Yuki! He seemed dead and his eyes slightly lifeless. Tohru jumped up and ran to the bottom of the stairs. She had only glimpsed Yuki once since she'd been brought here... and it had only been his back. But right now.. he was standing before her. Maybe she could figure out what was going on.
"Yuki!" She called. Yuki's head turned slowly to look at her. He stared at her with lifeless eyes. What had happened to Yuki!
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Yuki walked down the hall, unaware of where he was going, but knew that it was the right place. With these people always around him whispering things like 'keep going lord' and 'come on prince, turn right.' he didn't even have to look. They always wore cloaks and a man with icy skin always walked next to him. The man would always tell him what to do.. and he did it without question. The man had a chilling voice and he was the reason for anything Yuki did. Yuki was like a shell. Sometimes a voice... the voice of the true Yuki Sohma.. would rise inside this shell of a man and ask if what was happening was right.. and try to come back to the surface.
His skin was becoming pale and cold like the man who ordered him. He raised his hand to look at it with uninterested eyes, but something said he was interested in the color and status of it. He could swear the hand used to have more color in it...
"Hm.." he mumbled. The voice in his mind was back. 'This can't be my hand. What has happened to me? Why am I like this?!' Though the voice was shouting with emotion, the face stayed neutral.
Busy staring at his hand, the prince forgot about the 4 stairs he had to descend and tripped on the last one. His hood fell down to his shoulders. He stood up and was about to put his hood up when someone yelled.
"Yuki!" A woman called his name. So long since someone had called him by his name. He turned his head to look at the person. 'I know you.' The voice said. 'Who are you?' 2 years of being a shell. He couldn't remember this persons name. But he knew she had meant something to him. 2 years.. and this prince hadn't spoken more than one word 'Yes'. He had only talked to the icy skinned man and only that word. So as he stared at this person, his mouth opened ever so slightly.
'I know her! I know her name! If you truly are close to me, please help me! Why don't I say anything?!' Yuki pleaded in his mind. The name of the woman came to him.
"T... T...." the prince stuttered. The entire crowd stared at the prince. He could speak again?! "T.. oooh.." The prince's mouth closed and he stared at her. 'I know your name. I do. Say the name. Come on you shell! Say the dang name!'
"Toh.. Tohr.. Tohru... Tohru?" The prince stared at the girl some more and the crowd gapped.