Disclaimer: Not mine. Natsuki Takaya owns Fruits Basket. Paul Lawrence Dunbar owns the line "We wear the mask."
Author's Note: Yep. Another one. I get bored easily if you can't tell. This is from Shigure's POV. Maybe I'll work my way through the whole family. Thank you for reviews on the Yuki/Haru drabble! They were good to read while I was sick.
The house is quiet in the morning now.
Breakfast, if eaten at all, is eaten in silence. They leave quickly afterwards, walking the muted path to school together.
And I sit in my study.
As long as I am there, I can pretend everything's okay.
She was our last hope…and now she is lost to us.
I feel older now. Heavier. Despite our wishes, everything has changed. The thought sombers even me.
But I let no one see that subdued, serious side of me. I'll always stay "silly old Shigure" in their eyes. Like some American poet once said, "We wear the mask."
Still…I miss the noise.