The house was as it always was. Its walls the same color
and the house sat as it always had. The kitchen was spotless, along with the
dining room. All the doors were set and still in their proper places, no tares
in the paper. There was one door that stood alone in the front of the house,
extra parts of paper were cut into shapes of certain familiar animals.
The backyard was neat and tidy as it could possibly be on a
warm autumn day. Different colored leaves were scattered about, pulled into
piles on one side of the yard. A new looking fountain sat on one side and
trickled into a small pond that held many little gold fish. Next to the fountain
was a small path that led into the woods, past a large tree with enormous roots
that stretched and climbed around the area. Over the roots and down the path you
would enter a large clearing that held scars from a short fight once upon a
time. This clearing seemed to be sandy, and a small puddle sat in the middle of
it all from the rain the night before.
Into the backyard again, a wooden ladder sat leaning against
the side of the house. The wood itself was still stained and looked new, but the
dust and the small spider webs that strung themselves in the corners was the
only telltale sign that it hadn't been used in a long time.
Next to the ladder a path was cleared into a deeper forest.
Once reaching the end of the path you would be greeted by the sight of a large
garden full of tomato plants and strawberry bushes. The memorable stalks of the
leek plant sat in a small corner of the garden, next to the strawberries. All in
all the entire garden was as neat as it had always been kept.
One last thing could be seen from the neat backyard, and it
was lying peacefully on the porch. Her long brown hair was tied into a braid
that lay beside her head. He face was a cream color and her cheeks were flushed
pink, eyes closed and mouth open slightly. She wore a plain yellow shirt that
was covered by a light blue zip up hooded sweatshirt, and a pair of tan shorts
almost reached her knees. Her long legs stretched out on the hard word floor
turned in different directions, and her arms were wrapped around an orange cat
that slept in equal bliss.
The scene was sweet as the wind blew and scattered red and
yellow leaves across the yard. A girl and her beloved cat, asleep on the porch
after a long days work in the yard. And with that simple knowledge, he smiled.
That would have been a sight for him to see...
Strange Happening's
SAL-Chan's first FruBa fic
*Part One: One Year After
Italic - Thought's/~flashbacks~/emphasized words {whispers/etc.}
Bold - Emphasized words {usually shouted}
~*~ - Time laps/POV change
~"Sometimes there is no time outs, no second chances. Sometimes its now or never..."~
~*~
A smile graced his face and lit his usually dark eyes as he
stepped into the neat yard, looking the sleeping girl over. He softly stepped
toward her from out of the path next to the ladder. A basket of ripe
strawberries grasped in his right hand, he picked one out and ate it. As the
leaves swayed in the late afternoon breeze, sunlight danced in-between them,
highlighting parts of his gray-blue hair and catching in parts of his violet
eyes.
As he quietly made his way to the porch and sat near the pole
near her head, the orange cat stirred in her arms. It opened its eyes half way
then blinked once it saw him, and looked up to meet his black eyes to violet
ones. There was a moment then, when their eyes locked, then the cat wiggled out
of the sleeping girls arms and landed with a soled 'pa-tat' on the wood. It
stretched for a moment then turned and walked over to him and stuck its head
into the basked of strawberries, sniffing.
The cats back arched up as one pale hand stroked the orange
fur. The cat then raised its eyes to the face of the owner of the hand, and in a
moment jumped onto his lap, purring lowly and snuggling into his pair of deep
blue pants.
"Yuki?"
Yuki Sohma turned to the speaker who was lying on her back.
Her forest green eyes were open slightly, one of her hands coming up to rub the
sleep out of them. He smiled down at her, still petting the cat that had rolled
onto its back and was purring in pure happiness.
"Did you have a nice nap?" He asked politely as she yawned
and nodded best she could, smiling once she spotted the orange tabby curled up
in his lap.
"It was very nice..." Blinking, she turned onto her stomach.
"What time is it now?" She asked as she reached to pet the cat's head. If it was
possible, he purred louder. He smiled, knowing her response to his answer.
"It's almost six." He said softly as his gaze then wandered
across the backyard. The cat stopped purring abruptly and looked up from his
lap, eyes glued at a door near the end of the hall.
"Almost six!" She shouted, scrambling to pull the blue
sweatshirt up and stand at the same time, quickly running into the kitchen
shortly after. He sighed as the clanging of pots preceded to come fourth form
the kitchen, a smile on his face as he scanned the neat yard again. The cat then
mewed as Yuki stopped petting it, and it then watched as the smiled drained from
his face as quickly as it had been placed on.
A lonely wind blew through the yard now that she had gone
inside. It seemed darker now, and another breeze that blew through the yard has
a sudden winter nip to it. The sun seemed to sink behind the trees now and its
rays didn't seem so heartwarming. And as suddenly as he was happy a moment ago,
he found that after their conversation that something had been missing. And the
sad part about that was that he knew exactly what was missing, and even though
he hated to admit it, he was lonely now...
"Mew!"
A small smiled graced his lips again but disappeared just
as quickly as he looked down to find a pair of now unhappy black eyes starting
up at him. A sad as it may sound, he forced a smile onto his lips for the sake
of a cat and started stroking his velvet fur again.
Quiet settled in the backyard once more as he turned his gaze
to the small fountain, noticing how much the yard had changed with that small
addition. How much everything had changed...
"I'm surprised he likes you..." The voice had made him jump
from the pure fact that it had come out of nowhere. His brow wrinkled in
annoyance and he shot a glare toward the direction of the voice, knowing full
well what was coming next.
"...Or maybe he's waiting for the right moment to come out
and attack you..." The speaker came into view in the corner of Yuki's eye. His
humor would never change, no matter how many years passed or what happened.
He was still the tallest in the house, but they were catching
up to him. At the moment a pair of glasses sat at the end of his nose bridge and
covered most of the dark brown eyes. His black hair was still short but hung
longer in the back now, and a smile still graced his aging face. He was dressed
in his normal attire, his favorite off white writers robe. But then again, you
expect all that form Shigure Sohma.
Yuki grinned slighted at the comment as the orange feline
curled into a ball in his lap. Shigure had a knack to make him grin recently.
Why, Yuki didn't know. Things became quiet again in the yard as both Sohma's
watch the evening roll thought the trees and bring a light darkness into that
sky.
"...it's always so quiet now." Shigure whispered as if
talking to the wind. Yuki raised an eyebrow and took a look at the older writer,
finding that Shigure's face held no humor as it had with his earlier comment.
"What are you talking about?" Yuki questioned, eyes starting
to turn a deeper violet. "It's getting dark and everything's going to sleep. Of
course it's quiet." He finished in more of a hushed voice as another 'mew' came
from the tabby cat on his lap.
"I know that. But..." He paused while a pained expression
crossed his face. It was never hard for Shigure to talk about something or
someone, and this tipped Yuki off on where this conversation was going. Yuki's
face hardened and his gaze turned sharp.
"...It's just so quiet. The house, the night, everything around us seems
so quiet. It feels so different withou-"
For a moment a look of confusion crossed his face as Shigure
spoke. Then the begging of his next sentence hit him and Yuki's head snapped
toward Shigure.
"Shut up Shigure! Don't even start up about that!"
Yuki raised his voice up a notch as he stood up, knocking the tabby cat off his
lap. Anger reflected in his dark orbs toward his cousin who leaned against a
pillar. He was almost as tall as the writer now, turning 18 soon.
"Well why not? It's about time someone did." Shigure turned a
sharp eye on the younger Sohma, his voice raising along with Yuki's. It was
strange to see Shigure - of all people- serious, and there was also a pained
expression along with a stern one. "We can't leave that alone too much
longer."
"Don't you get it Shigure?! We're fine now so leave it alone. Don't bring
hi-"
"I understand it perfectly well Yuki, thank you for asking."
Shigure's eyes held a glint in them that they normally never did. "Maybe even
more then you do. That's why I need to bring him up, because no one else
will." Shigure turned to face his gray-blue haired companion, face set and eyes
serious. Yuki stood still, hands clenched and knuckles white, face set and eyes
aflame. Quiet settled in between them for what seemed like a long stretch of
time.
"Y...Yuki? Shigure?" The quiet, timid voice broke the glaring
contest that was held between the two. They both turned to look at to dining
room door.
Tohru Honda stood to the side, pink apron on and a white pot
in her hand. She had a confused look on her face, eyebrows raised. Her eyes were
wide as if she knew exactly what they were talking about.
...
"Is dinner ready now? My you work quickly Tohru. It smells
de~lici~ous!" Shigure babbled with a smile on his face as he headed past her
and into the dining room and took a seat at the table, talking to himself about
how good the food looks and how nice it smelled. He pretended as if that
conversation never happened.
Tohru stood still staring at Yuki whose hair covered his
eyes, his hands still clasped.
"You...you can eat later if you like. I'll warm your food
later if you do..." She said quietly, as if her voice would break something.
There was another tense moment then Yuki sighed, shoulder relaxing and hands
unclenching. He stood up straight, took a deep breath and exhaled, then opened
his eyes. They danced and he turned to face Tohru, a true smile sitting on his
face.
"No Tohru. I'll eat now with you." He smiled as she smiled,
eyes lighting up and a blush crossing her face.
"Well then come in before it gets cold. Cold... salmon
doesn't taste very good." Her smile never wavered, but something caught in her
eye when she tried to finish the sentence. She turned quickly to Shigure who was
still talking to himself. She put her pot down in front of her and uncovering
the steaming white rice that was kept warm, then took a seat next to the right
of the chatting Shigure.
Yuki turned, as if on instinct, toward the stairs at the
end of the hall. He opened his mouth, as if to call something. And before a
voice came forth from his vocal cords, something clicked in his mind and he shut
his mouth quickly, letting all the air he gathered to fall into a deep sigh. His
eyes stayed on the stairs a moment longer before his gaze went back into the
dinning room to find that Shigure and Tohru -who were in a polite conversation-
had not noticed his action.
He sighed and took a few long strides and came into the lit
room quickly. He took a seat on the other side of the jabbering Shigure. As soon
as he did Shigure stopped talking and an unease silence set into the room as the
three of them stared at the last vacant set for a moment. It was quickly filled
by the orange tabby cat who looked at the salmon and licked his lips, then
looked back up at Tohru and the two Sohma's.
"Well..." Shigure broke the silence that had settled in yet
again as he picked up his chopsticks, smiling slightly. "Lets eat, shall we?"
"Itadekimasu!" The chorus was said, and so they ate.
~*~
As much as I hate to admit it, Shigure was right.
It was way too quiet...
It had been way too quiet for quite a long time now.
I sighed, sitting at my open window. The quarter moon hung
low and the stars shown brightly, not a cloud in the sky. Sometimes I'm grateful
that I live in a house so far away from the city. I love the nights out here,
and I can see why he-
I shook my head, stopping that thought. I sighed again and
swung my legs over the side of the windowsill, giving them more room to stretch
as I stared up at the clear night sky.
It's hard to believe I'm going to turn 18 soon, and I still
live at Shigure's house. I do make enough to live on my own. And I'm sure that I
could live by myself if I wanted.
Then...why do I?
I shook that question off, not even daring to think about
that. I had been over it enough times and sadly I came up with the same answers
time and time again. And it was something I really wanted to leave alone.
I sighed yet again and leaned against the window frame. The
night air was cooler against my skin, though not that much was showing with my
flannel pants and night shirt on. It was refreshing, and somewhat soothing.
Relaxing even.
My eyes traveled to my right, to find a very familiar windowsill. It was closed
and locked as it had been for a while now. I shook my head again...
It's Shigure's fault that I'm thinking about it! Damn him.
...But then again, even though I hate to think it, he was
right. It's different. Really different...
"Mew!"
I turned slowly and faced my fine furry friend. He stared up
at me with small black eyes smiling slightly. With a quick jump and a flash of
his collar he sat next to me, glowing orange in the moonlight.
"So Kubo, what are you up to?" I asked the small cat. It
puffed its chest out, showing it's new black collar proudly. Inscribed in a
small black diamond that dangled from its collar, in a sliver script was the
name Kabocha. Pumpkin.
"Thought that she would do that..." I told him as he shook
his head, a bell attached to the collar jingling. My hand found itself petting
him again, gazing up at the starry sky. After a minuet or so I stopped and we
sat together, staring up into the world outside ours.
Then...something flashed in the corner of my right eye. I
blinked, ignoring it. That was until it flashed again. I turned my head so
quickly that my neck cracked and my eyes caught an image that shook my memory's.
I blinked, confused for an instant. But when I opened my eyes again, after I
blinked, it was gone.
I felt myself go pale. Either my mind was playing tricks on
me or I was loosing it. But I was sure that I had just seen him...
And I remembered that night. I had opened my window and had
seen him sitting on the window ledge, just like I was at the moment. And I could
have sworn that I just saw him again...
Kyo...
"Mew!"
I was snapped from my thought as Kabocha yelled over and over
again, hair standing on end. And he stared in the same direction of the other
window, the same direction I was just staring.
I grabbed him and swung my legs back into the room and pulled
the shutters closed with more haste then I intended. I had to stop thinking
about him, I had to totally get him out of my mind altogether. But it was
getting harder and harder to do.
His anniversary was coming up, and I would have to face his
death once and for all.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ranting: Well...what do ya think? I know I kinda left it off just a little, but
you gotta give me a break. It's a hard idea to control, and I had to follow my
SAL guidelines. 1) If you must write something, you MUST write the full outline
first. That was my first problem, seeing that I wrote the part of the story that
would be...~Checks notes~ 4 chapters ahead. Lovely...But I did it. It's 10:09
now, and I started at 8 this morning with nothing but that one part in the 4th
chapter...And I'm going that far too, even if no one reads this. But if you do,
please, PLEASE review? It would mean a lot. And who would not want to yell at me
for killing off a main character even before the story started? ~Grins~ Now
that's gotta give you something to write, right? Well Ja for now, and until next
time!
P.S.: And thanks to my beta readers, Iz-Chan and Grizzy for reading and helping
me with this. They liked it, will you? ...O, and I don't own any characters,
except for my Kubo-kitty. Any one else, they're not mine...
~"SAL" a.k.a. SAL-Chan out!