Author's Note: I'm going to be posting the rest of the story, despite the fact that nobody seems all that interested in reading this. I hope I didn't scare everyone away with the summary. --;

I'm assuming that maybe, due to the fact that there were a lot of unknown elements, some people were confused by the last chapter. To help alleviate any confusion anyone who reads this might have, I'll be posting the entire story this time.

I'd really appreciate a review, even if you don't enjoy everything about the story.

For chronological purposes, this story is set sometime in the mid-Meiji Era, and follows a little bit of the generation before the Fruits Basket gang where they were last together (including Tohru's last incarnation).

Chapter Summary: Sen Ajibana thought that everything was going well in her life. She was engaged to her beloved Takuro and had made peace with her estranged half-brother, Hajime. But as that fateful summer approached, everything began to fall apart in the presence of Ieyasu Sohma...

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Baskets or its characters. However, I do own all of the original characters included herein.

Leaves

Part 2: Aoba

Sen Ajibana inhaled deeply, savoring the delightful floral aroma that wafted past her nose. It was the first day of summer, one of her favorite times of the year, and everything was absolutely perfect: a clear, sunny day where all of nature seemed to be humming with life. Only one thing could have made it more perfect…

Smiling to herself, she gazed down at the water in the small pond in the garden she was sitting in and saw the face of her husband-to-be: Takuro Sohma.

Takuro was the most handsome man she had ever met, more beautiful than most women she knew, in truth. But appearances were superficial in Sen's opinion. She loved Takuro for the beauty that lay in his soul, not in his face—although that didn't hurt, either, she mused with a smile.

But her beloved's almost supernatural beauty was not so unusual amongst members of the Sohma family, particularly members of the Junikyu. All of them seemed to possess a comeliness that was almost unearthly, even the men (of which there were eleven, counting the cat). They were the envy—and sometimes the object of affection—of all the women (and some men) in the city.

Her dreamy smile slowly morphed into a thoughtful frown as her thoughts shifted to the other members of the Junikyu, particularly the cat—her own half-brother, Hajime Sohma. She had promised that she would visit him that afternoon, but she had become so lost in her daydreams of what it would be like to marry Takuro that fall that she had all but forgotten her obligations.

I hope Niisan isn't angry with me, she thought as she bit her lip and started across the compound to the cat's "house," which was really more of a cell. Wasn't Seika-neechan supposed to be visiting him today, too? I hope so—he couldn't possibly be angry if she's there!

Sen had never been particularly close to her half-brother. He had been the product of her mother's first marriage to Hachemon Sohma, and rejected by her for the sole reason that he bore the most malevolent of the vengeful Juunishi spirits.

The dragon, Eisaku, had erased Akemi Sohma's memories of ever having her first child after the death of her first husband and she went on to marry a man named Hidehira Ajibana—Sen's father. She remained close to her family, but she never lived inside the estate's walls again. For those reasons, Sen had been unaware of her Hajime's existence—or even of the curse—until she was ten years old.

It was at that time that Hidehira, a member of the military police, died in a skirmish against some of the rebel samurai left over from the shogunate in Edo. Akemi had been grief-stricken at the loss of her husband and had killed herself while her young daughter slept one night. With her mother's death, Hidehira's relatives had been prepared to take her in as a ward—but only if she worked as a servant in their household.

Fortunately or unfortunately, it had been revealed to her that she had an older half-brother by her mother's first marriage. However, her brother had not been nearly old enough to care for her, either. Instead, she had become the ward of Hajime's guardian, Kennada. It was within Kennada's house that she had first met Takuro and his older sister, Seika, and learned of the curse that afflicted her mother's family. Only for the fact that her brother was a Junikyu (of sorts) was she spared a place under Eisaku's hand.

She and Hajime had never been close, and they probably never would be. However, they had managed to reconcile their differences and were even attempting to form a civil relationship. One of the few areas of ground that was forbidden, though, was her relationship with Takuro.

Sen thought that it was ridiculous, but for as long as she had known the two men, they had hated each other with a passion. Seika had explained that it was the nature of their curses, being the cat and the rat; Sen did not share her sister-in-law's outlook and believed it was a flimsy excuse (though, for all of her conviction, she had no better explanation). Only in her presence did they even manage to grudgingly respect each other—or so Seika said.

Suddenly, a cool breeze caught Sen's kimono, causing her sleeves to flap in the wind. She could not be sure why, but she shivered at its touch. It was a reminder that it was only the first day of summer, and still somewhat cool when the wind picked up. The girl had never liked the wind; it reminded her too much of a person's breath—particularly of someone breathing on her neck…

"Ajibana-san," said a voice, startling her out of her thoughts. She immediately turned in the direction of the voice and saw Meiji Sohma gazing at her expectantly. For some reason, she felt the hair stand up on the back of her neck when she saw him; Meiji was the rooster, and the most faithful of the Junikyu to their master, Ieyasu Sohma.

Swallowing hard, Sen stammered, "Meiji-san!"

It was rare to see Meiji away from Ieyasu's side; he served as a bodyguard to the head of the Sohma clan. Only on occasion would he leave his master's side—and it always meant something terrible was about to occur, Takuro and Seika warned her continuously. However, Sen had always tried to see the kinder side of people, and always tried to give them the benefit of the doubt (though she had yet to witness any acts of kindness where either Meiji or Ieyasu were concerned).

The auburn-haired man's mahogany eyes were solemn as he intoned, "Please come with me, Ajibana-san. Ieyasu-sama has requested your presence."

As always, the mention of the clan head caused Sen's heart to skip a beat. Takuro and the other Junikyu had always warned her away from Ieyasu; it was only by his good graces that she had managed to live inside the compound for the last eight years, and though their paths had crossed a few times, they had never met directly. However, she knew that it was rude—not to mention dangerous—to refuse a summons from the man who controlled the very lives of the Junikyu.

She licked her lips nervously before she replied, "Of course, Meiji-san…"

Silently, the man who wore a white Western-style shirt coupled with maroon hakama led her to the house belonging to the clan head. With each step, Sen heard her heartbeat thudding in her ears—loud enough for everyone else to hear, she felt certain. As they went, she became acutely aware of the fact that there were very few people around. In fact, she had only even seen Meiji. Where was everyone…?

"We are here." The sound of Meiji's voice startled the girl out of her thoughts. When she gave him a blank look, he gestured for her to enter. "Ieyasu-sama is expecting you, Ajibana-san."

"Yes," she said slowly, reaching out to slide the shoji open with a shaking hand. Once inside, she carefully closed it behind her. She could hear the soft clak-clak of the man's geta on the floorboards as he left.

Little by little, she turned to face the other occupant of the room. Ieyasu sat on the porch that overlooked his private garden. He looked so unassuming that for a moment she wondered why she had ever been afraid of meeting him alone.

With a soft sigh, Sen removed her shoes and knelt in the middle of the room, gazing expectantly at the clan head. A pregnant silence engulfed them and she began to fidget. Coughing quietly, she softly inquired, "I-Ieyasu-san…?"

Slowly, Ieyasu turned to glance at her over his shoulder. "So, we finally meet…Sen Ajibana-san." A soft smile lit his lips as he added, "It's nice to make your acquaintance…"

The blue-eyed girl blinked at his friendliness. Perhaps she had been wrong to suspect him, after all. Then she realized how rude she must have seemed for not returning the sentiment and immediately bowed her head and stammered, "Ah, yes! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well, Iyeasu-san!"

He put up a hand to stop any further onslaught of apologetic greetings. "Relax, Ajibana-san. I apologize if I make you nervous." It might have been her imagination, but she thought she saw him smirk. "I tend to have that affect on people."

As Ieyasu rose to his feet and slowly approached her, Sen felt a chill race down her spine. She swallowed hard and lowered her eyes, attempting to cover up her previous lack of manners by a show of proper respect toward a man. Her attempts were in vain, because she gasped when she suddenly felt the clan head grasping her face by the chin, forcing her to look upward.

The young man examined her coldly for a moment before his steel-gray orbs narrowed and a smirk overtook his face once more. Then he released her chin rather abruptly, causing her to falter slightly without his strength to counterbalance her. She stared up at him in confusion as he told her, "You haven't changed a bit, have you? You're still the same plain girl you always were."

Sen knew that she should have been insulted by the comment, but the way he spoke had an almost otherworldly quality, as though he was not truly speaking to her but rather someone else. Rubbing her chin gingerly, she murmured, "I…don't understand, Ieyasu-san. What are you talking about?"

"I'm not surprised you don't remember," he said coolly, turning to gaze out at the garden once again where the sun was slowly beginning to set. "It was a very long time ago, the last time we saw each other. Unless you have a purpose, it's easy to forget something you probably regarded as inconsequential."

The way Ieyasu spoke continued to make the brown-haired young woman nervous. Licking her lips, she asked, "Ieyasu-san…why did you wish to see me…?"

She didn't like the way he slowly turned to regard her with an expression that was almost akin to surprise, mocking her. He chuckled and hooked a hand under her chin again. "Silly girl. You really don't know, do you?"

Then, without warning, he drew back and slapped her across the face. The force of the blow knocked her backward and she instinctively reached up to touch her check that still stung. She was surprised to find that her lips were also tingling. Reaching up with gentle fingers, she gingerly touched them—and was shocked to see that blood dotted the digits' pads.

Sen gazed up at him in bewilderment and whispered, "W-why?"

"Do you know the reason you were not turned out, Ajibana-san?" Ieyasu asked her. At the slow shake of her head, he chuckled again. "Did you truly think that you were taken in only because of that revolting monster your mother had the misfortune to bring into this world?"

Her mind whirled. Of course Hajime had been the reason she had been allowed into the Sohma family fold. Why else would they have accepted her?

"You probably don't remember, but we have met before." There was a faraway look in his eyes as he turned to gaze out at the garden again. "I wanted to meet Akemi-neesan, to see what was so appealing that she would rather live outside the walls of the compound. That's when I saw you, playing outside with your friends; you weren't even ten years old. But even then I recognized you, Tomoe…"

His sharp eyes focused on her immediately and any attempts she might have made to correct him as to her name died in her throat. "You never were very clever; but perhaps you made an attempt to get closer to Yasuhiko once again by being born as close to the family as you possibly could. At first, I was enraged. But when your parents died, I realized what a perfect opportunity you were granting me."

His wintry smile caused her heart to jump into her throat, despite the fact that she had no idea what he was talking about. "By allowing yourself to be born into my family, you were all but offering me a chance to fulfill the promise I made to you so long ago. I allowed Kennada-jichan's family to take you in, so that everyone might think it was because of that monster that you were allowed to live here."

Ieyasu's eyes flashed as his emotions quickly changed. "When I learned that you were trying to get close to Takuro, I was enraged. To think that Yasuhiko even had the gall to ask for my permission to marry you…!" He snickered a bit then, his expression changing once more. "But I do admit that it was somewhat amusing to watch him squirm. When I gave him permission, it was only because with a wedding constantly in your thoughts, you would be suitably distracted. It was too perfect and would successfully allow me to steal your happiness."

The family head was insane—that was all there was to it, she decided. In a tremulous voice, she asked, "What're you talking about?"

The dark-haired young man made a sound of disappointment. "Perhaps I should refresh your memory, Tomoe. You see, you took away my happiness one night, a very long time ago. Your brother came in a feeble attempt to 'rescue' you and killed Yasuhiko. Then he uttered a curse upon us, in an attempt to cause us to suffer the way he had." There was a sneer in his voice that frightened her. "It was your fault that he died, and I vowed to have my revenge, Tomoe. Now I intend to have it…"

The young woman watched in horror as he drew a knife from the folds of his obi and brandished it in a threatening manner. In the chasms of her mind, she heard unspoken words echo. "You destroyed my happiness, and so I shall destroy yours! If ever we should meet again, Tomoe Hamada, I will destroy you! As the sun sets on our eighteenth summer together, I will kill you!"

Sen trembled with fear as she slowly scrambled backward—only to find herself met with the barrier of the shoji door. Her eyes wide, she pleaded, "Ieyasu-san, I haven't done anything to you!"

She watched as a mad grin overtook his face. "That's where you're wrong, Ajibana-san. You stole my happiness!" With a shout, he dove at her.

The girl ducked out of his reach and lurched to her feet, running for the door with Ieyasu in hot pursuit. As she ran, she yelled, "Takuro! Meiji-san!"

Suddenly she felt the man tackle her from behind. Forcing her to turn over, he laughed maniacally and ran the blade across her cheek, creating a thin line of blood. "Nobody can help you now!"

Her pupils constricted in fear and, in a final effort to save herself, she screamed, "NIISAN!"

A moment later, her screams of pain echoed throughout the walls of the compound as she felt Ieyasu slit her belly. The pain was so intense, tears were almost immediately streaming from her eyes and she began to sob. Gazing at the family head who continued to straddle her legs, she choked out, "Why…?"

"You destroyed my happiness, and now I have destroyed yours," he replied simply, as if the statement made all the sense in the world. "Now, I have kept my promise to you, Tomoe. All that's left is to watch you slowly die."

Her eyes glazed over as his meaning sank in. Long-forgotten memories resurfaced—those of the time that Ieyasu had spoken in what seemed to be a bout of madness. How could she have known he was speaking truth, even if only in a twisted fashion? Only now did her soul recognize it as true.

His promise to steal her happiness rang through her head again, and she began to ponder the truth of the statement. Had she really been happy, living as she had now? No, she realized with a start. She could scarcely remember any happiness in her life, save perhaps her time with Takuro.

Then she sluggishly shook her head as she recognized that not even Takuro had truly ever made her happy. She had thought she was content, but there had always been something lacking, she now realized—something that had been lost with the death of Yasuhiko. Any memories she had of time with Takuro were tainted with the truth, bittersweet at best.

A hollow laugh erupted from her throat as the connection was made.

Ieyasu frowned in annoyance as he saw Sen chuckling. "What's so funny?"

She lifted her head a bit to gaze at him with vacant azure orbs. "You've failed, Akahito-dono. There was nothing for you to destroy…"

"Y-you're lying," he stammered in an attempt to reassure himself. His steel-gray eyes narrowed. "I've destroyed any chance you had of ever being happy again!"

"There was nothing left to destroy," she repeated. Then she softly said, "I hate you. You make us suffer this fate of your own volition. You had your revenge—and I will have mine, too. When next we meet on the twenty-first eve of autumn, I will bring your death, Ieyasu Sohma…"

Ieyasu glared down at her as he pronounced, "You're too weak to kill anyone, Ajibana-san. You're too cheerful and kind to harm to any living creature!"

"I'll kill you, Ieyasu-san," she whispered with a thin smile. "I promise…"

Driven into a mad frenzy by the fear her words elicited, the clan head shrieked, "Shut up!" and drove the knife into her throat, twisting it. He watched as she gurgled in pain, blood gushing from her throat and mouth as her entire body jerked. His breathing became labored as he watched her form finally still and her eyes glaze over.

"I won't let you win!" he hissed angrily. "I've had my revenge and there's no way you will ever be able to destroy me, Tomoe!"

"Sen!" called a voice suddenly. It belonged to the cat, her half-brother. Likely, he had heard her screams; except for himself and Meiji, Hajime was the only other person who had been allowed on the property. But what was he doing out of his cage?

Cursing under his breath, Ieyasu lifted himself off the ground and went to dispose of his bloodstained garments.

A moment later, Hajime came upon the sight of his half-sister lying in a pool of her own blood that shimmered in the light of the sinking sun. Eyes wide in horror, he raced forward and examined her. There was no way she could possibly be alive; nobody could survive a slit stomach and gored throat. If only he'd arrived sooner!

Cradling her head in his lap, he whispered, "Damn it, Sen. Who did this to you… why…?"