Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket.
Chapter Five: Orange
His orange hair.
It was the always the first thing she noticed about him. His hair was so vivid a shade, she could see it from a distance.
She idolized him as much as she idolized his hair. Well maybe not idolized. But she loved his hair. She loved its effervescent hue. She loved everything about it, just as she loved everything about him.
"Kyou-kun, I love you! I love you and your pretty hair! Love, love, love! Let me run my fingers through it!"
A panting boy rushed ahead of her, face twisted in a scowl. Despite this show of annoyance and anger, he was deathly terrified. What would happen if she caught up with him wasn't left to the imagination. He went through the same painful routine daily.
But Kagura was determined. He was the winner in this race of love, but not for long. Once she caught up to him, they'd cross the blissful lovers' finish line together! The motions of her legs increased, her screams intensified with each second. At the moment, she was singing a song of her own invention.
"Love you, Kitty-chan! Have to be with Kitty-chan! Kyou-chan, Kitty-chan! I love you, so STOP RUNNING!" The last words were shouted in a violent tone of voice as a gleam entered her eyes. The devil personified, at least to him. To Kagura, she was an angel, ready to bless her cherub with her love.
She leapt in the air and tackled him.
"My... Skull..." He kissed the dirt, limbs weakening like deflated balloons. The chattering girl didn't notice as she brought a chunk of his hair to bury her face in.
"Ahhh! So pretty. I love your hair, Kyou-kun!"
"Ow! You're pulling my hair by the roots! My hair isn't detachable. Get OFF OF MEEE!" He scurried out of her possession, but at a price.
RIPPPP!
Kagura had still been clinging with an iron grip to the substance sprouting from his scalp. She held her hands to her mouth as she viewed the newly made bald patch on the back of his head.
He turned with angry fire engulfing his eyes. "You... WHAT DID YOU DO?"
Her liquefied eyes glanced at the chunk of hair in her hands. It glowed like all-consuming fire.
"I'm so sorry, Kyou! I'll glue it back and it'll be good as new!"
"No! It won't! Now I have to shave my head or--"
"Don't shave your heaaadd!" she sobbed.
"And I'm supposed to walk around like this, Kagura? Arrggghhh! I hate you!"
"Don't say that!" she whimpered. "I love you. I'm sorry!"
"Sorry doesn't help. You're nothing but a meddlesome burden! I hate you, I hate you, I HATE YOU!"
I hate you...
Rage lit up her facial features. "How could you say that to me!" she howled before setting off on her task of punishing him.
Orange.
She looked at the strands of hair in her tightly clenched fingers.
"Kyou's color..."
It now was hers. She hadn't meant to rip the hair follicles from poor Kyou's scalp. She wanted to use scissors to clip a bit of his hair. Kagura even had a tiny satchel of her hair to give to him. She had seen a movie where the main characters gave each other a section of their hair to remember them by. She thought it was the most romantic thing she had ever seen.
She pressed her treasure to her heart. When her nose levitated over the strands, a gritty scent met her nose.
"Ah!" Teary eyes and an averted face met the entrance of the smell through her nostrils. "It smells... like sweat. And dirt." An adoring stare was given to the substance in her hands.
She placed his hair next to hers in the silk bag.
Kyou's hair was always with her. She carried it around like a good luck charm, periodically taking it out to squeeze affectionately to her cheek.
Kagura's favorite color used to be yellow. Bright yellow. Sunshine yellow. It was a color of hope. Hoping for the sunshine that rarely came to the Sohmas. It had endured in her heart. But like for most of the members of her family, it faded with time. Years passed and optimism for a better life died. But now, orange was her new color of hope. She now hoped to be his wife one day. To have his children. To receive his love one day instead of being the only one showing her adoration. When she walked down the aisle one day, she wanted to be in a kimono that matched his hair color. He'd gently smile and she'd smile back, both of them knowing orange's symbolism.
The clouds were dreary, a depressing slate gray. Kagura carried a wax cylinder to her destination, the local shrine.
With the solemn air of a priestess, she placed the tangerine-hued candle on the wooden altar and lit the wick. Two claps, then a bow made at the waist.
"Bless Kyou-kun today, Kami-sama. He hasn't had the best life. Rainy days are particularly hard for him. Please protect him, as you have all this time."
A smile curved her lips as she straightened her spine. When she was younger, she began the practice of lighting an orange candle for him on rainy days. One time, she nearly burned down the house! It took a level-headed Hatori to extinguish the flames. That's when Hatori advised that he supervise her ritual, and that he actually light the candle for her. But now she was more responsible with a lighter, and her medic relative no longer had to hide the matches and lighters from her.
Now, I can light a candle, she thought smilingly as she watched the tiny flame dance on the wick. I'm an adult now. I can take care of myself, and Kyou-kun too. I'm going to take care of him.
Kagura stayed with the candle until the wind demolished the flame. A raindrop sizzled into the shoulder of Kagura's shirt.
Soon, a cloudburst occurred. The drenched woman bowed again and left the shrine. At that moment, a childhood memory floated to her mind...
"Ha'ri, Ha'ri!" A sobbing Kagura rushed to him.
"What's wrong? Did you scrape something?" he asked. A casual observer would surmise that the aspiring medic wasn't worried at the matter at hand because of his unchanging stoic expression. But concern coiled itself around his words like a playful snake.
"Ayame, get off me."
Ayame's head peeked around his shoulder, arms choking his waist.
"You smell so goood though! Oh, Kagura-chan. What's wrong, sweetie?" His widened eyes showed interest as well as a desire to help her.
The crying girl looked up, lower lip quivering. "The kids at school m--m--made fun of me."
"What? Made fun of you? What did they say?"
She produced a large box full of orange crayons. Some were snapped in half as if bitten by a hungry animal.
"I--I colored a picture in school, for science. We were learning about the habitat of the tiger. I colored everything orange and... The teacher scolded me!"
"Insensitive witch," Ayame said. "But what does this have to do with your classmates?"
"A girl told me that I was coloring everything wrong."
"So what did you tell her?"
"T--That orange was my favorite color. She asked me why and I said, 'Because I love Kyou-kun, everything about him. One of those things is his hair.' And she laughed! Everyone did! She said boys were icky. She tore my picture in half and stomped on my crayons!"
"Kagu-chan, don't cry!" Ayame gathered the small girl into his arms. "Just tell me you made us proud."
"W--Well..." Her voice contained wavering notes of shame.
"Yes?" Hatori probed.
"I punched her."
Ayame's laughter cut into the silence. "Good job, Kagu-chan! She'd better think twice before challenging the Sohma temper!"
"You shouldn't encourage her," Hatori scolded.
"Okay, I won't."
"I got a suspension. I don't wanna tell mom, but I have to get a slip signed... Will you tell her with me, Ha'ri? Please?"
He took her little hand. "Okay.
The days of relying on her family faded. She found herself keeping painful thoughts and events to herself more frequently. Enduring meant solving her own dilemmas, at least for Kagura. If she wasn't a strong person, she wouldn't be able to support her beloved. And she had to be strong, at all costs.
Every time she thought about it, she grew somber. Amid this violent show of affection for him, her family was relegated to the scenery of her life.
Especially Shigure. She used to entrust him with her problems. But as they grew older, their bond weakened. She used to know almost everything that went on in his life and he knew what was up with her, but now, they were almost like strangers.
It started with Kagura's intensified campaign to win Kyou's heart. Then Shigure left for college. He immediately went into the literary field and Kagura entered college after a few years. Due to the activities in their lives, they had a loose hold on one another.
Kagura contemplated it often. I should spend more time with him, she'd think. I should spend more time with them. But everything was promised in terms of, "When I get Kyou to love me..."
"When I get Kyou to love me, I'll spend more time with Ayame. We could go shopping!"
"When I get Kyou to love me, I'll hang out with Momiji more. Poor kid, he needs a shoulder to cry on. Even if his mother doesn't love him, I do, and I need to tell him that."
"When I get Kyou to love me, I swear I'll spend more time with Haru. We need to plan the double wedding: mine and Kyou's and his and Yuki's! We've been planning it for so long..."
"When I get Kyou to love me... I'll talk to Shigure. We'll talk, and really talk this time. Really... I will."
She didn't have his love, but Kagura did spend time with them. But of all the Sohmas, she spent time with Shigure the least. She truly did miss his jokes and advice and just him in general.
"But I'll do it today." Kagura stood and looked at the crystal clear sky. "I'm going to visit Shigure today! I even baked a cake," she added, looking at the charred hunk of flour and sugar next to her. "It's been way too long. I miss him."
A flash of tangerine tugged at the corner of her eye. All thoughts of her respite to the residence fled from her mind as she raced to him.
His eyes widened in surprise. He must be happy to see me too, she thought, oblivious to his apprehension. Joy inflated her heart as she body-slammed him.
Despite her good intentions, she was once again seduced by the color orange.