Fruits Basket: The Bear's Story
Chapter 1
By gametaken
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of its characters.
Author's Note: What if the cat wasn't the only one left out of the Zodiac? What if there was another? Enter the bear, which didn't care to be in the Zodiac so she slept in.
Begin story.
It was a bright afternoon, one glorious Sunday evening, as the young Tohru Honda made her way back to the Shigure's house. She carried a brown paper bag filled with groceries. They had run out of milk again and she needed to get things for dinner.
She hummed lightly as she walked, a happy expression on her face. A small, rustling sound in the trees above caught her attention. "Huh?" she said, looking up at the trees. "Hmm. It must have been my imagination."
She turned back to the path and continued to walk until there was another rustle in the trees, this time, it wasn't small.
"No, it was not your imagination, dear girl," said the voice of a young woman. "It was I," another rustling then a loud crash as a woman fell from the trees. "AUGH!! Oof!! Damn trees . . . ouch . . ." The young woman got up and brushed herself off. She had small twigs stuck in her hair, which was put up in two buns. The buns were black while the rest of her hair was white. She had dark tan skin and dark, slightly golden eyes that seemed familiar to Tohru, like someone she's seen before. She wore a white button up shirt, which was unbuttoned at the belly, with black sleeves and a black collar and black jeans that were cut off at the knees. She wore white knee socks and black shoes.
"So it was you," Tohru said with a smile. "Who are you?" Goofy expression.
The woman crashed again. "Oh, right," she said with swirls for eyes. "I forgot to introduce myself."
She jumped up and struck a dazzling pose, her hands on her hips and her eyes sparkling. "My name," she twirled about and held her hand out to Tohru "is Mitsuki Sohma!" (TA-DAA!! background music)
Tohru went wide eyed and dazzled. "You mean you're a member of the Sohma family?! Oh, wow! This is amazing!" 'I can't believe I just met another member of the Sohma family! Maybe she's the horse or the rooster?'
(All I know is the rat, cow, dog, tiger, dragon, monkey, sheep, snake, rabbit, pig, and the cat. I haven't seen the rooster or the horse which means, duh, Tohru hasn't met them yet, either.)
"I bet you're wondering what animal of the Zodiac I am," Mitsuki said, a gleeful look on her face. (Like a chibi chubby face.)
Tohru smiled and bowed. "Are you the horse, or the rooster? Oh, excuse me. I'm being rude. I'm sorry, Ms Mitsuki."
Mitsuki shook her finger. "Oh, no, no, no, call me Suki. Everyone does and I'm neither one of those."
Tohru stood straight, an expression of confusion on her face. "You're not the horse or the rooster? But those are the only ones left."
Suki's jaw dropped, her eyes empty with shock. "You mean you don't know?!?!?!!!!" She went into a mellow dramatic waver, pressing the back of her hand against her forehead. "Oh, how cruel, Shigure-kun didn't tell you! Not even my brother, who I'm sure you've met!"
She slumped on the ground in a depressed heap.
Tohru walked toward her, an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Suki," she said. "Is there another animal in the Zodiac? I thought the only one left out was the cat."
Mitsuki shot straight up, a knowledgeable finger in the air and her hand on her hip. "Then, I shall educate you! But first," deep breath "what's your name?"
Tohru crashed. "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you." She got up and bowed with a kind smile. "My name is Tohru Honda and I'm staying with the Sohma's. Well, Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo, anyway."
Mitsuki gave an excited gasp and clapped her hands together cheerfully. "Really? Oh, goody! Then you know where the house is! Lead on, Tohru-chan! I don't want to keep my dear Shigure-kun waiting! I'm going to give them all a great, big bear hug! Oh, I bet they really missed me!"
Suki rushed Tohru on so fast, that they actually passed the house more than once.
"STOP!!" Tohru exclaimed. "We're here, we're here!"
Mitsuki stopped and gawked with wide, sparkly eyes at Shigure's house. "Oh, it's just as I remember it! Shigure-kun really keeps a good house! Well, I doubt it was either him, Yuki-kun, or Kyo-kun that keep the house so clean I bet it was you, wasn't it, Tohru-chan? Of course it was, I'm so silly, you seem like the clean type of girl to me ok enough chit-chat let's go-ooo!!!!!!"
Suki practically picked Tohru off the ground as she ran forward. She was running so fast, Tohru's legs flailing in the air as they went, that Tohru thought they were going to crash right through the door. But they stopped. Unbelievably they stopped and Suki knocked on the door. She set Tohru down and waited eagerly for someone to answer.
Tohru made to open the door but it was flung open by none other than Yuki. He barely got a chance to say anything before the woman charged forward, embracing Yuki in a great, big bear hug. Tohru could have sworn she heard cracking.
"Yuki-ku-uun!!! Auntie Suki-chan missed you so-ooo much!!" Mitsuki said, nuzzling Yuki as she hugged – make that constricted.
Yuki was turning blue. "Need . . . air! Too . . . much . . . hugs! Can't . . . breathe!"
"What's all the noise?" asked Kyo as he came up to the door, a towel draped about his head as he dried his hair. Upon removing the towel, he saw what the noise was and his eyes went wide with glee and he smirked.
"Mitsuki," he said, crossing his arms. "Another one of your bear hugs, huh?"
Suki dropped Yuki, who fell in a heap on the floor as he gasped for breath like a fish on land, and charged Kyo, who went white with fear of Suki's death grips – I mean hugs.
"Kyo-ku-uun!!! Give Auntie Suki-chan a hug! She missed you so-oo much, yes she did!" (She likes to talk in the 3rd person. ') She gave Kyo a bone cracking bear hug as she nuzzled him, too.
"It's . . . good to . . . see you . . . too," he gasped as he tried to escape the hug. There was a mutual respect, one might even say friendship, between Kyo and Mitsuki. They were both outcasts of the Zodiac so one should suspect no less.
Tohru watched in mingled shock and awe as Suki continued her hug. She bent down to help Yuki up. With a loud crack, Yuki straightened his back. "I see you've met Mitsuki, Miss Tohru. Did she give you one of her bear hugs, too?"
Tohru shook her head. "No, thank goodness. From the looks of them, I don't think I could survive one."
Suki had finished Kyo's bear hug. "Ok, Kyo-kun! Give me your best hug!" She grinned widely as she waited for the hug.
Kyo straightened his back with a loud crack and smirked. "You wanna hug? Ok! Here's your hug!!" He wrapped his arms around Suki's midsection and hugged with all his might, lifting Suki off the ground.
"At-a-boy, Kyo," she said between gasps of air. "Just the way I taught you!"
"Ah, Suki-chan, my dear! I see you've made it back safely," said Shigure as he walked up with his usual goofy expression.
Mitsuki busted out of Kyo's hug and charged at Shigure, but he simply placed a hand on her forehead and held her back. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Suki, my dear. I just got back from my chiropractor appointment, I don't want to go back he has cold hands."
Mitsuki wriggled her arms in front of her in an attempt to hug Shigure. "Shigure-eeee!! You're not being fair!"
"Yes, Shigure," Yuki said, with an evil tone in his voice. "You're not being fair." He appeared behind Shigure with a blank expression on his face as he tickled Shigure.
Shigure laughed and dropped his guard. Suki ran forward and commenced operation "Give Shigure a Bear Hug."
"Yuki . . . . !! AUGH!! You . . . traitor!!! AUGH!!"
"That's what you get for inviting Mitsuki over," Yuki said, crossing his arms.
Tohru watched with a blank expression. (Much like this oo''') "Uh . . . I think I'll go serve some tea."
Suki released her grip on Shigure, who collapsed on the floor, and clapped her hands together with a cheerful grin. "What a wonderful idea, Tohru-chan! Can I help?"
Tohru smiled sweetly. "Oh, you don't have to, Suki! I can do it. Please, stay here and catch up on old times with the others."
Tohru returned to the dining room, where the others were waiting, and served the tea, along with other snacks. Suki and Shigure were in a deep conversation; obviously catching up on old times like Tohru said they should.
"Hahaha," Suki laughed. "Remember the time that you and Aya-kun decided to play a prank on your chemistry professor? I was still a first year in high school but Ha'ri-sempai told me how he had to take the blame for you two. You still haven't paid him back for that, have you?"
Shigure laughed as he remembered the good times. "Ah, yes. Your brother is quite the good friend."
Tohru looked at Shigure questioningly and asked, "Who is Suki's brother?"
"Oh, that's right," Suki said. "I never told you, did I, Tohru-chan?" She laughed lightly and said, "My big brother is Hatori-kun! Well, he's about 27 or 28, I'm not sure which. I'm 25, though. Hahaha! I feel so old compared to you, Tohru-chan! Hahaha!"
Tohru blushed and said, "Oh, no! You're not old! In fact, I thought you were only 20, honest!" 'I should've known Hatori was her brother! There eyes are just alike.'
Suki blushed and clapped her hands to her cheeks. "Really? Did you really, Tohru-chan? I feel so much better now! But Kisa-chan still calls me grandma, how sad."
"Have you figured out Suki's Zodiac animal, Tohru?" Shigure chanted.
Tohru looked up from her tea. "Uh, no! She told me she wasn't the horse or the rooster and I can't imagine what other animal could have been left out."
"Oh, c'mon," Kyo said, slamming his hand on the table. "Surely you can figure it out by now! Put it all together! It shouldn't be that hard considering all the bear hugs she's given out!"
Tohru's face was blank for a while whilst she pondered. The others waited, sweat drops sliding down their heads. Suki waited patiently with a smile on her face. (-)
"Oh!" Tohru exclaimed.
'Took her long enough,' thought Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo with a sigh.
"Could you be a bear?" she asked, turning to Suki.
Suki cheered and wrapped her arms around Tohru's shoulders. "You did it, Tohru-chan! You guessed right! I'm the bear! Panda bear to be exact!"
Tohru was relieved that she didn't get one of Suki's bear hugs. "But, wait," she said, looking at Mitsuki. "Is there a story behind the bear?"
Mitsuki nodded her head, her face chibi and chubby again. "You betcha, Tohru-chan! Let me tell you!"
She cleared her throat and began the story: "When God announced that there was going to be a race to a banquet to decide the Zodiac animals, he also told the bear. The bear considered the offer, as she was in mid-hibernation. It was pretty chilly out and she didn't think a race would be the best for her health. The cat," she pointed to Kyo who jumped at the sudden mentioning, "urged the bear to join him in the race. He said, 'It will be fun to race together, Bear!' The bear shook her head and said, 'I do not care much for a place in the Zodiac, Cat. You should go on without me. Maybe you can ask Rat to join you. I'm sure Ox wouldn't mind helping you, either.' Deciding that he was getting nowhere trying to convince a bear to do something it didn't want to do, cuz bears are pretty stubborn if they really don't want to do something, not to mention Bear wanted to catch up on all the sleep she missed, Cat left bear and went to ask Rat and Ox if they wanted to race together. I guess I'm more like the bear than I thought I was! I love to sleep and I can eat a lot! Anyway, back to the story. When the race began, Bear gave the animals her best wishes, as they came to visit her before heading for the starting line. She wondered where Cat was because he didn't come to visit her, as all the animals in the race did because they wanted Bear's good luck. Bear thought he skipped out like she did. So, while the race went on, Bear was happily asleep in her warm cave, dreaming of all the left-overs the other animals would bring her from the banquet."
Suki looked dreamily out to nowhere with her hands together and a smile on her face.
Kyo and Yuki looked with mingled expressions.
'She even did voices,' Yuki thought.
'She's so weird," Kyo thought.
Tohru went wide eyed with excitement. "Oh, wow," she exclaimed. "That was a good story! But, I can't believe you like to eat and sleep a lot, Suki. You look so fit."
Suki blushed and said with a smile, "Well, bears are known for their strength and, believe it or not, bears are actually pretty fast. It's all the naps we take and the kind of food we eat that give us all of our energy. My papa was the bear before I was, except he had a big pot-belly that jiggled when he laughed. Hahaha! It was so funny! Ha'ri-sempai loved it!"
"Well," Shigure said, setting his tea down. "It's getting late, Tohru. Don't you three have to go to school tomorrow?"
"Oh, that's right," Tohru said with a start. "We'd better get to bed. Oh, but where is Suki going to sleep?"
Suki grinned and appeared next to Yuki and Kyo. She wrapped and arm around each of their shoulders and pulled them towards her in a warm hug against her bosom. "Oh, I have a great idea! I can sleep with one of my favorite boys, Kyo-kun or Yuki-kun! We can stay up late and tell each other horror stories with a flashlight and hot chocolate! It'll be so-ooo much fun!"
Yuki and Kyo wriggled out of her grip and away from her bosom with faces redder than beets.
"I don't think that's a good idea, Suki," Shigure said. "Besides," he added his voice stern and serious. "I thought I was your favorite boy!" he whined, goofy faced and silly.
Mitsuki shoved past Yuki and Kyo and crawled over to Shigure on her hands and knees. "But you are, Shigure-kun! Next to Ha'ri-sempai, you'll always be my favorite!"
Tohru blushed as she watched the scene. 'Mitsuki is so strange,' she thought. 'She definitely isn't one for modesty.'
"I have a great idea," Shigure said, with a knowledgeable finger in the air. "You can sleep with me, Suki!"
Suki started prodding Shigure with her index finger while she grinned mischievously. "Oh, Shigure-kun! You're such a perv!"
"YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN HE IS!!!!" Kyo and Yuki said together.
Suki gave them a sad, puppy dog expression and said, "Don't say such things! You know you don't mean it!" She clapped her hands together and stood up. "I'm going to change into my pj's, ok? When I come back, you'd better have a place for me to slee-eeep!" she crooned as she walked up stairs.
Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure were in an argument, discussing why it wasn't a good idea for Mitsuki to sleep with either of them because if Hatori found out, he'd skin them alive for perverting his sister. (Too late for that, eh?)
Tohru watched with a blank expression (as usual) until they heard Mitsuki come down the stairs.
"So, where am I going to sleep?"
Mitsuki had her hair down. It reached to just past her shoulders. The ends of her hair were all black while the top was white. She was wearing a black, button up shirt, which belonged to Kyo and was unbuttoned at the belly (she likes wearing shirts like that), over white shorts. She ran her hands through her hair and sat down at the table.
"Well?" she asked again.
"IS THAT MY SHIRT?!?!" Kyo exclaimed.
"Huh?" Suki said. She looked down at the shirt and smiled. "Yes, it is. Is it not ok that I wear it?"
"NO IT'S NOT OK!!"
"Oh, ok. Then I'll take it off," she said, starting to unbutton the shirt.
"NO, NO, NO!!! YOU CAN WEAR IT!! YOU CAN WEAR IT!!!" Kyo exclaimed, his face burning red and his head down on the table.
"I knew that would work," Suki said with a smile. "So, Tohru-chan! Where am I sleeping?"
"Well, there's plenty of room in my bed for two, so I guess you can share my bed," Tohru said with a smile. "Good night," Tohru said as she stood up.
"Are you going to bed already, Tohru-chan?" Suki asked.
Tohru nodded. "Uh-huh. I'm pretty tired and I don't want to be late for school tomorrow. Are you coming?"
Mitsuki nodded. "In a minute."
Tohru nodded her head and went upstairs.
"Ah, two women sharing the same bed," Shigure said with a wondering expression on his face. Kyo and Yuki sent a punch upside his head. It left a large lump.
"You are disgusting," Yuki said darkly.
"Whenever you talk, you reek of something illegal!" Kyo added.
(I know, Ha'ri said that in one of the last episodes but I just had to put that in. ')
"I'm going to bed," Kyo said, marching up the stairs.
"Same goes for me," Yuki said, passing another disgusted glance at Shigure before heading upstairs.
"Oh, Shigure-kun, you're so perverted," Mitsuki said with a giggle.
The two shared a moment of laughter before they went silent.
"I need to talk to you, Mitsuki," Shigure said, all signs of the silliness gone.
"I thought you would," Mitsuki said, smiling slightly down at her hands, which rested on the table. Her eyes, seemingly happy, were glazed over with something sad.
"You've been gone for a year, Mitsuki."
"Yes, I know. Akito wouldn't let me out."
"I've been really worried about you. The same goes for Ayame and Hatori. It's been two years since Jin died."
Mitsuki sighed and closed her eyes. Something wet rolled down her cheek.
"You don't still think it was your fault, do you?" Shigure asked.
"It was," Mitsuki said, opening her eyes again. "It was my fault. I kept telling Jin that I would tell Akito about us. I promised myself after Jin died that I'd never procrastinate again."
She lowered her head and her shoulders began to shake as she heaved great breaths of air into her lungs. Tears spilled freely from her eyes onto her hands, dripping off onto the table.
"If only . . . If only I hadn't been such a fool. I . . . I . . . I should've done something!" She held her face in her hands, covering her eyes.
Shigure watched sadly. "You knew what Akito would do if he found out, Mitsuki. You knew what happened to Hatori. It wasn't your fault. You were trying to protect Jin. You . . ." he was cut off.
"Don't give me that crap, Shigure!" Mitsuki cried, looking up at Shigure with mournful, tear-filled eyes. Her face was wet with the tears that streaked down her face. "I could've saved Jin if only I went! Sure, Akito would've ordered Hatori to erase Jin's memory, but that's better than death! He didn't deserve that! He didn't . . ."
There was another silence, broken only by the wet sounds of Mitsuki's weeping. Shigure looked down at the empty tea cup he still held in his hands.
"You didn't want to go down the same road as your brother, did you?" Shigure asked, looking up at the heaving woman.
She shook her head. "No, I . . . I guess I didn't. I saw how . . . how cold his heart got after he erased Kana's memory. I hear . . . she got married." She looked up at Shigure. "Is it true?"
Shigure nodded. "Yes, it is."
She smiled feebly. "That's good for her . . . but, what about Hatori? Because of this . . . this damn family curse! We can't even love someone unless it's in the 'precious Sohma family.' Damn Akito . . . Why does he have to be so cruel? He didn't have to hurt Hatori . . . and he didn't have to kill Jin . . ."
Saying this reduced Mitsuki to a heaving pile of tears. She lowered her head to the table and held her shoulders in an attempt to comfort herself. She shook violently, trying to choke back the scream that was building up inside of her.
Shigure stood up and walked over to Mitsuki. He placed his hands on her shoulders and said, "No one deserves what happened to Jin, Mitsuki. But you can't keep beating yourself up about it. Jin wanted to tell Akito. He wanted to go to the main house. He chose to go without you. You couldn't have done anything if you didn't know. You couldn't have known. You were substituting for a teacher at that middle school."
Mitsuki smiled. "He wanted children, you know? So did I."
"Huh?" Shigure said, seating himself next to Mitsuki.
"I went to Hatori and asked him if it was possible but I found out that even if it was possible, I wasn't capable of carrying a child." She sat up straight and looked down at a multicolored bracelet made with beads around her wrist. "I used to teach at an elementary and the sight of all those children . . . it made me sad to know I could never have one of my own. One of them made this for me, you know? I treasured it for so long."
Shigure smiled sweetly. "I'm sure you would've made a wonderful mother, Suki. Let's get to bed, hm? I'm sure you're tired."
She nodded and stood up with Shigure. "Jin said the same thing. I'm sure . . . you're both right."
To be continued . . .
Author's Note: Here's the story with Jin, if you didn't get it earlier.
Jin Kazuma was also a teacher, like Mitsuki. (Mitsuki teaches art and World Mythology.) The two met when Mitsuki got a substituting job at the high school Jin worked at. They were together for about a year and a half when Jin found out about Mitsuki's family curse. Mitsuki was expecting Jin to dump her on the spot but instead, he said "I've always liked panda bears!"
When Mitsuki told Jin about Akito, the head of the Sohma family, Jin wanted to tell him about their relationship because he didn't like keeping it a secret from Suki's family. Mitsuki would always tell Jin that she'd pay a visit to Akito and tell him. "I'll go first thing tomorrow."
"I'll go next Monday, ok?"
"I'm busy today. I have so many papers to grade. How about this Saturday?"
Tired of Suki's procrastination, Jin went to the main house by himself one Tuesday when Mitsuki was substituting at a local middle school. (Hatsuharu went to that middle school. ) Jin was sure that Akito wasn't as bad as Mitsuki told him. (Here's a flash back for you all. -)
Jin Kazuma sat patiently as he awaited Akito's word. Akito took a deep breath and straightened the robes he wore.
"So," he said his voice cold. "You love Mitsuki, huh? Well, let me tell you something." He grabbed the chair he was sitting on and raised it above him, bringing it down with all the force he had, beating Jin over and over again until the chair fragments were too small to do any damage.
"You can't love her!! No one can love anyone in the cursed family!! It's impossible, you stupid man!!" He kicked and punched Jin about when the chair wouldn't work.
Jin simply took the beating without comment, afraid that if he did anything, he would offend Akito even more than he did and Mitsuki would hate him for it. He took the beating of his life and he could feel that several of his ribs were broken and bruised. He coughed up blood and Akito made to strike again. Someone stopped him. It was Hatori.
"Akito! That's enough!! He's learned his lesson," he said, the words causing him great pain. He held Akito back with all his strength.
Akito struggled against Hatori, spitting at Jin and saying, "You'll never love anyone in this family!! Mitsuki is cursed like the rest of this family, you worthless pig!! Hatori! Erase his memory!! Now!!"
Akito took deep, ragged breaths and was worn out.
"I will, Akito," Hatori said. "Please, calm down!"
Hatori released his grip on Akito and Akito straightened his robes, a malicious smirk on his face. "I'll make Mitsuki suffer for loving you. I'll make her suffer just like her brother."
Hatori's eyes went wide and he looked away. 'She doesn't deserve to suffer like I do,' he thought.
"Hatori! Take this worthless man away! He's making me sick!"
Hatori walked past Akito and picked Jin off the ground, carrying him in his arms out of the room. Jin had passed out.
Hatori didn't erase Jin's memory.
Hearing of what happened to Jin, Mitsuki hurried to the hospital Hatori had taken him to. She stopped at the door and looked in horror at the unconscious man lying in the hospital bed. He had an IV strapped to his arm and the heart monitor gave a faint "beep, beep, beep" sound as it counted Jin's heart beats.
Mitsuki felt as if she were going to vomit. She held a hand to her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. She stepped forward, slowly and cautiously as if her entering that room would end her lover's life. She reached Jin's bed side and held back the flood of tears that was threatening to unleash itself.
"Oh, Jin," she said, her voice nothing but a choke. She held his hand in hers and fell to her knees. The flood gates opened and tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
There were footsteps at the door and Mitsuki looked up. Hatori and Hatsuharu were there. Haru ran forward to Mitsuki's side. (The two were good friends, probably because their hair was so much alike, and Haru was good friends with Jin.)
"Suki," he said. "I . . . I'm sorry." He couldn't bring the words up. All he could do was give the woman an embrace. Tears threatened to spill from his eyes as well but he had the strength to hold them back.
Hatori walked up and looked at Jin's silent visage. He looked down at Mitsuki. "Mitsuki," he said.
"Is there . . . is there . . ." Mitsuki couldn't bring herself to say what she wanted to.
Haru said it for her. He looked up at Hatori. "Is there any chance he'll make it?"
Hatori sighed. "No."
A broken cry emitted from Mitsuki.
"There is a puncture in one of his organs and it's causing internal bleeding. It would be too risky to perform an operation and it would create an even bigger chance of him dying sooner."
Haru was growing angry. He stood up straight and said, "You don't have to say it so coldly, Hatori! Show some sign of emotion, will you?"
Hatori could tell he was going to turn Black so, before it could happen, he grabbed the front of his shirt and said, "You don't want to know what's going on inside of me, boy. So don't make such presumptions."
He released his grip on Haru's shirt when the steady "beep, beep, beep" of the heart monitor was replaced with one, long "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" that went on and on.
Hatori and Hatsuharu looked in horror at it. Hatori looked down at his younger sister and squatted beside her, placing his hands comfortingly on her shoulders.
She clung to Jin's hand, which was turning cold, and placed it against her cheek like Jin used to do. "No," she said. "Don't leave . . . No . . ."
"Mitsuki," Hatori began. "Suki, he's gone."
"No," she said, shaking her head. The tears shone like cold drops in the hospital light. "No! He can't be! We were going to leave! We were going to leave for China and away from Akito! We were going to leave . . ."
Haru looked down at the grieving woman, helpless to do anything short of comforting her. "Suki . . ."
Hatori tried to help her up, but she simply fell back to her knees.
"Damn you, Jin!" she cried. "How dare you leave me here! How dare you go without telling me! Damn you!"
She heaved great, shuttering cries and held her face in her hands. Something cold triggered in Hatori's mind as he remembered what he went through. It was the same, the way Mitsuki was suffering. He prayed that she wouldn't lock her heart away like he did.
"Get up, Mitsuki," he said sternly. He stood up and looked down at the helpless heap on the floor. "Get up, now! Jin is gone, Mitsuki. Face the facts! Now, get UP!"
Haru watched in disbelief at the man who was yelling at his grieving sister. "Hatori!"
"Shut-up, Hatsuharu! I know what's best for her, NOT you!! Get UP, Mitsuki!"
Mitsuki took a gulp of air and wiped the tears from her eyes. She struggled to lift herself to her feet, reaching for things to aid her. She grasped hold of Hatori's hand, hoping he would help her up. He did nothing. He did nothing but stand there, glaring down at his sister. Weakly, Mitsuki stood, her legs threatening to give way. She couldn't force herself to look at Jin's dead body. The heart monitor was driving her crazy. She couldn't stand it.
Rage built up inside of her and she ripped the wires from Jin's chest that connected him to the heart monitor. The long beep was replaced with cold, hazardous shrieks that repeated rapidly. She wanted to break that dreaded machine.
Several nurses came in to see what the commotion was. Hatori and Haru were trying to hold Mitsuki back. She wanted to break everything in that room. Even the dead body that lie in the bed.
"SHUT-UP!!! DAMN IT, SHUT-UP!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!! LET ME GO!! LET ME GO!!"
Mitsuki was true to her Zodiac animal. She was very strong and it took both Hatori and Hatsuharu to hold her back, and even still they struggled.
Akito wouldn't let Mitsuki go to Jin's funeral, though Mitsuki couldn't bear to go, anyway. So, in her place, Hatori went instead. He spoke in both his and Mitsuki's behalf. Hatori was the only one Akito allowed to go, although he couldn't stay long. He simply spoke and, before the burial began, he left.
Shigure and Ayame worried for Mitsuki. Hatori told them Akito kept her locked up in the main house. She was there for an entire year. She wouldn't eat or drink and any medicine Hatori tried to give her to return her strength had to be given by force. She cried herself to sleep every night, or so Hatori told the others.
Mitsuki stood at a window and looked out past the bamboo bars at the beautiful garden outside the room. She wore a simple, black and white kimono and her hair grew longer and was unkempt. The door opened and Momiji entered the room. He visited her as often as he could.
"Suki?" he said, entering the room with a tray in his hands; it was laden with a bowl of soup and a cup of tea. "Suki-iii, you have to eat something."
He set the tray down next to her futon mattress. Mitsuki looked back feebly at the tray and Momiji.
"Oh," she said. "No. I don't think so. No." Her voice sounded empty and devoid of life and emotion. She was out of it.
This was the routine they went through for an entire year. Hatori would visit, too, but mostly to give her the medicine. So would Akito, but only to discourage Mitsuki from any relationship with outsiders.
He'd say, "Look what you've done, Mitsuki. You've killed him."
"No," she'd reply.
"Yes, it's true. You brought him into this family and that cannot be allowed. You made me hurt him, but it was you who killed him. Don't get anymore ideas, Mitsuki. Don't bring anyone else into this cursed family."
Despite Akito's constant put downs, Hatori and Haru and the others would come and cheer her up as best they could. After a year when Akito thought she had enough punishment, he said Mitsuki was allowed to leave the main house whenever she felt like it. She wasn't part of the Zodiac so she didn't belong there, is what he would say. She didn't leave at once, though. Gradually, she regained her strength and left. Encouraged by Haru, she started teaching again, although it pained her to do it.
(Flash back over)
Author's Note: And, that is Mitsuki's story. - Now, what do you think? Is it a sad story? Do you like Suki Sohma? Is the story good? Is it funny? Do you have any ideas for the next chapter? Because, here's what I had planned for the second chapter:
Tohru was surprised to find out there was another animal in the Zodiac, and even more surprised to find out who it was. Mitsuki Sohma, the bear, is indeed a strange woman, and to Tohru's shock, she's Hatori Sohma's younger sister. What Tohru doesn't know is the sad past Mitsuki went through and Mitsuki wants to keep it that way. "Tohru-chan shouldn't have to know that. It'll only make her sad." Now, Tohru and the Sohma's going to her high school are in for a treat. Mitsuki's going to teach at their school! Now they have one more Sohma to worry about.