The mood in the Sohma household that day was somber.In fact,it had been like this for quite some time now.The tension in the air hung so thick that you could practically cut it with a knife.
The residents of the house looked to be in no better condition themselves.Shigure stood by the corner,his bangs covering his eyes and when he raised them one could see the bags underneath his eyes and his once youthful face now tired and withdrawn.
He looked towards where Hatori was sitting.Trails of smoke floated lazily around him with the cigarette hanging loosely on his lips and Shigure realized not for the first time,with the slightest twinge of amusement,that Hatori truly looked the part as dragon of the zodiac when he was expelling the smoke through his nose like that.
"How is Momiji coping with…it." Shigure spoke up.
An awkward silence descended upon the room.It was always awkward whenever the subject of the conversation turned to 'it'.
"Better." Came the weary,but still firm reply from Hatori.
"He's started eating,talking and even smiling at times,"
Shigure could sense a hint of pride in the doctor's voice when he said this.
"When I asked Momiji what made him get over it he replied, 'I know it's hard but I'll try not to stay in the past.She would've wanted me to move on.And so,I'm doing this for her.Of course,she'll always stay in my heart but from now on I'll try to greet each day with a smile and look forwards towards the future."
A wry smile tugged at Shigure's lips when he heard this.Yes,Momiji was absolutely right,that was exactly what 'she' would've said.
For a child so young,Momiji could sometimes certainly surprise you with the truth in his words.But then again,he had gone through more than most kids his age have.
"And is Kyo doing any better?"
Hatori deftly flicked the ashes off his cigarette,now halfway burnt,onto the ashtray in one swift move as he said this.
"Ah…Kyo.He's still moping about the house and spends most of his time caged up in his room or brooding up by the rooftop."
"And Yuki?"
Shigure's eyes turned dark and he looked away,his bangs falling down to cover his eyes once more.He folded his arms and sighed.
"Yuki…He's-Well,he's not doing so-"
He was interrupted by the slamming open of the room's sliding door.
"Tohru! Is she there!? Is she…"
Yuki shouted,his eyes wide and his body trembling badly as he clutched on the door as if it was his very lifeline.Or maybe it was just because he didn't want to fall down since his legs didn't look like they were up to the task.
Then,as quickly as his outburst came,it passed only to be replaced by a calmness in the violet-eyed boy's posture than was more than upsettling.
"She's upstairs isn't she?"
Shigure nodded. "In the third room."
Yuki chuckled slightly. "Well,of course she is.Yes,quite silly of me really to ask that.I'll go check in on her.Oh!Tohru's already made lunch.You can find it on the kitchen counter-top.Better get a taste of it before all of it is taken by Kyo." He continued on cheerfully.
"Hmm,we'll be sure to take a scoop."
Shigure had a pained expression on his face as he said this.The soft thumps on the staircase meant that Yuki had already gone upstairs.
"Not doing so well is he?" Hatori asked,re-crossing his legs at the same time.
"Well…yes,you can see that his condition hasn't improved at all.Hopefully the tape'll be able to change that."
"I see,your hoping that it will bring back a dose of reality into Yuki.That he might believe the facts on the tape even after refusing to listen to us and that is why you set the tape upstairs.Third room,I believe." Hatori said dryly.
"….yes.It's the only option left.I didn't know what else to do.He wouldn't listen to anybody.Truthfully,do you think it will work though?Because if it doesn't,I don't think there's any hope left for him."
"……"
Hatori remained silent and he continued on sitting there looking like a dragon,the smoke billowing around him.
Yuki opened the door.For some reason he couldn't fathom,he felt that something horrible was going to befall Tohru.He felt felt relieved though when he saw that nothing of that sort had happened at all.
'Stop being such a pessimist.' He scolded himself.He frowned when he realized that the tv had been left running.A tape sitting quite innocently on the floor caught his eye.Feeling intrigued and more than curious,he picked it up and inserted it onto the player.
Upon pressing the play button,the hiss of the white static was replaced with a picture of a news reporter.The carnage of what looked to be a car accident served as the background.Yuki felt a sharp pang going through his heart.
He fumbled for the remote,jabbing the volume button repeatedly so he could hear what the reporter was mumbling about.
"…the passengers of the car,other than a few scratches and bruises,made it safe except for one.A girl by the name of Honda Tohru. The family was…."
The drone of the reporter's voice turned softer and softer until Yuki could hear the air rushing past his ear and the cold sweat of fear beading his forehead.
It-it couldn't be!
It just can't-!
If…if Tohru was supposedly dead then…who was the person standing in the same room as him? Yuki thought frantically,bent over and clutching his head which was pounding painfully.
That just means your going mad…
A sinister voice in his head whispered to him.
He raised his eyes slightly above his arms to see Tohru smiling warmly in his direction and giving him a little wave.
That's right.It's just a joke.Just a silly joke.Tohru would never leave him.NEVER.
Yuki walked towards Tohru and pulled her towards his embrace.He smiled at the cute blush spreading across her cheeks.
"You'd never do something like that to me right?" He whispered into her ear.
If that was true,then why did her eyes look so sad…?
Yuki laid his head down on Tohru's shoulders,his own eyes drifting shut.
He didn't know how long he fell asleep but when he was finally awake,he realized that Tohru had already departed from the room.
Probably went downstairs to do the laundry or something like that,he thought,rubbing his eyes.He saw the rumpled blanket on the floor and smiled to himself,Tohru had probably put this on him.She had always been particular about not wanting him to catch a cold,however insignificant.
Yuki shuffled towards the door and all of a sudden,flashes of a past memory that he somehow found very familiar caught him unawares.
He gripped the doorknob,his body shaking violently again as scene after horrible scene flashed through his mind.
The car swerved and hit the wall with a terrible crash after slamming into the huge trailer.The glass shattered and the door swung open.Tohru's frail body,all decked out in a gorgeous wedding gown,flew into the air at the impact of the car.She swerved in an almost graceful arc before landing onto the pavement.Snapped in two.
Yuki had ran over there,Kyo,Hatori and Shigure right behind him.He had stood over Tohru,watching in shocked disbelieving silence as the blood seeped out from her lifeless body.Lifeless.Even when she lay like that,the bones shattered and limbs torn,she still had a look of contentment on her face.
It was peaceful and calm,a face with no regrets at all.Yuki had dropped down to his knees,thrusting his arms out shakily to pull her body into his arms.Lifeless.
Tohru Honda,his bride to be,was now no longer here.All those promises of being with him forever,all lies.Nolongernolongerherelierliernevernottruenonononononono……
The tears had fallen down unchecked,mapping out a wet trail across his face and dropping down onto the grey pavement to mingle in with the blood.Droppingdroppingdrippingrippinglikeherbodydowndownlikeblooddripdrip…
The scene stopped and Yuki was pulled back harshly to the present time.Everything,everything the reporter said was true.Lies,lies,all lies…What Shigure and Hatori had been trying to tell him all along was true.You promised me,why did you have to leave…? It was a wedding that was never meant to be.Her love torn away from him just like that.Their love.She's not here.Not downstairs or at the garden or the shops or at school or "Tohru!?" Yuki screamed,crumpling down to the floor as he sobbed uncontrollably. "Why!?WHY!??"
Yuki Sohma made it to the headlines the next day.
"Grief for dead wife drives Yuki Sohma to plunge to his death by jumping down from house balcony."
End