Ages: The same
Chapter 13: Ghosts of the Past
Its dusk. The sun is almost hidden by the Earth. A young female with brown hair stands outside a big, dark looking house. The door opens and she hesitates. Her body shakes in surprised.. must she go on?
Yes.
The female walks in, her world turning from friendly, to dark. The whole room around her is dark. She can't see. Her body begins to get tense. Her senses begin to shut down. She wants to flee.. but inside her heart.. she knows she must continue on.
"I'm glad that you've come," says a young voice, a voice of someone between their teenage years and the beginning of their adult hood. The voice engulfs her, the sound coming from all around.
"Yes.." she replies, her voice soft and innocent.
"Yes.. thank you," replies a suave voice. The female's body shakes. That voice... was so kind and dear. Hands find their way to her shoulders, bringing her to sit down. She kneels, her back straight as a board. She wants to stay straight... be tall... be strong.
"This won't hurt a bit," said the suave voice, a bit of guilt in his voice. The female's head drops suddenly, her brown locks cascading down her slim shoulders. Her body shakes, a soft sound coming from her mouth. Tear drops hit the floor gently, being sucked up as if the boards were feeding off of her sadness. The man in front of her looks at her. His hand landed upon her shoulder, as if trying to sooth her.
"I'm sorry," he says, his voice now full of guilt. "I cannot go back on my order," he whispers.
"It's... okay," replies the female. She laces her hands gently around the man's wrist, the one that would perform the trick. "Don't forget me," she whispers.
Footsteps run down the hall. They want to stop something, they don't believe what was going to happen. They run and run in the darkness, only the whiteness of their socks in color.
The surroundings turn black, the only color is on the man and the female, their bodies in full but dull color. He raises his hand, her hands gently going with them. He presses them to her forehead. Her hand's became tighter, her body tensing up. This was the end.. she knew it.. and she couldn't help it. She presses her head forward, ready for her fate.
Suddenly, a door appears in the blackness, it swinging open. Two males push their way through, their eyes watching as the female falls to the floor, her body hitting the ground with a thud. The sound echoes through the hallway, and into the endless night...
RING, RING RING!
It was Sunday morning, and the windows let in the welcoming sunlight. It was a beautiful day outside, so that meant that the whole day would be welcoming and pleasant. The sunlight hit a sleeping Miki, the light warming her face. Her eyes flinched, and fluttered open. Her purple eyes were glazed over. She sat up quickly in her bed and looked around. That... was the first time in a month that she had actually finished that dream... The dream of a girl... Miki ran her hand through her messy gray hair. She had been cursed for a month with that dream... ever since she started school for that year... the dream had became her nightmare. What did it mean? Her heart raced at the thought, the rat inside of her tugging at her heart and soul. She clutched her stomach and closed her eyes. Why... why must it try to rip her soul out. There was something... something she had to figure out.. find out.. or the rat would never let her be in the morning again. Yet.. something was wrong... this feeling always stopped after five minutes.. but.. it kept going. Miki climbed to her feet and began to walk towards the door. Maybe.. maybe Masa could help her figure out what was wrong with her, he was quite knowledgeable about the zodiac and the generation before it. If anything, she could call Ryu and ask him about it... she was sure he'd give her a reasonable answer. While walking, a pain shot up through her legs, sending her crashing to the ground. All she could see was white. She let out a soft scream, nothing that would be able to be heard more than five feet away. Her heart began to race and her eyes shut, trying to shut out the pain and suddenly... there was blackness.
A house... it was a house. Inside the house, upstairs in one of the rooms to the right, a man paced. Not a man, but a young man, a teenage to be more precise. He kept looking at his watch, his purple eyes full of concern.
"Where is she?" he asked, his gentle voice seeming extremely loud in the quiet house.
Miki opened her eyes and noticed she was standing in her living room. She blinked. How did she get down there? She looked down and let out a small eep! She was still in her pajamas. She didn't want Natsu catching her in her night clothes, that would be to embarrassing. She ran up the stairs, almost tripping on the stop one, but stopped. She saw that her door was opened. Why was it opened? She always closed it when she left.. not wanting anyone to be in it. She crept towards it and her eyes went wide. She saw a shadow pacing back and forth in her room. Her hands clutched to her side. Natsu was in her room.
"Alright you damn ass cat, get out of my room!" she hollered. Nothing... "Natsu! Get out of my room! I don't want to send you to your grave," she hissed. Nothing. She crossed her arms. Why was he ignoring her? She walked closer, just enough to see who it was. She stopped, her eyes looking at the figure in her room. Her eyes traveled up and down his body. White shoes... blue pants... white shirt.. purple eyes... gray hair. Images flashed inside her mind, and a picture appeared in her mind. This figure was Yuki... the former rat. Miki pressed her back against the wall as she stared at Yuki. Why... why was she in the past... This wasn't suppose to happen.. there was no way she could be in the past. Then it hit her. This was a dream... this was why Yuki did nothing when she called for Natsu.. he couldn't hear her.. so he couldn't see her either. What was the meaning of this.
Clump, clump, clump
Footsteps
Miki turned around, her eyes catching the eyes of the former dog, Shigure. She stayed against the wall as she watched him make his way up the stairs. Yuki's hands grabbed the door frame, and his body whipped out into the hallway. His eyes were wide.
"Where is she?" he asked, franticly. He wanted to see her, she had been gone off to continue her education. He had written to her but towards the end she stopped writing back. He knew Shigure went to pick her up from the airport and was excited to see her. He began to worry when they weren't back by the time they said. A door creped open and a head of red hair poked out. He walked down the hallway and stopped next to Yuki's door. Miki looked at the orange haired boy. This was Kyo...
"Well?" enforced Yuki, his heart beginning to race. Shigure's eyes seemed to hold something, to Miki's surprise.
"She... asked if she could be dropped off at the Sohma House." he said. Yuki's eyes and Kyo's both went wide.
"WHAT!" they said in unison, both of them pushing Shigure aside and dashing down the stairs. Miki just stood there. Why would she ask to be dropped off at the Sohma house? And who was she again? Miki looked over at Shigure and watched him slide down the wall onto his bottom. He held his head in his hands and shook his head.
Colors wized by her and Miki found herself outside, the sun almost lost to the Earth. A cool wind blew, and the leaves danced around. She noticed a female with brown hair dancing in the wind. Her hands were at her side, and she was looking up at the doors to the Main House. Miki walked up to her, wanting to get a closer look. This must be the female that Yuki was talking about. From the back it looked like Kagura. She walked to her side and noticed that the female's eyes were sea green and full of sadness. Those eyes... It was Tohru... The doors suddenly opened, and Tohru walked inside, as if someone was calling her, Miki following.
A sudden coldness engulfed her. It was black.. pitch black.
"I'm glad that you've come," said a young voice, a voice of someone between their teenage years and the beginning of their adult hood. The voice seemed to be all around. Miki looked around, noticed the source of the voice. She felt her body become tense. It was...
"Yes," said Tohru, her voice soft and innocent. Akito... Miki felt tense, the former God.. Akito..
"Yes.. thank you," replied a suave voice. Miki noticed that it was Ryu... wait, not Ryu, it was the doctor before him, the name escaping her mind. His voice was kind... and gentle. Miki didn't quite understand why he would have to do this.
"You know, you made it quite far without having your memories erased," said Akito, smiling at Tohru. "You know more things than anyone from the outside..." Akito glared at Tohru. "And you thought you could break the curse. Well you can't! No one can! This generation will suffer! Just like the generation before, and the generation before! And now its time for you to go about your merry little way, forgetting about all of this," Akito growled. Tohru shivered. Miki almost gagged. Miki though that Haruko could be bad when he was angry, but Akito was far worse than Haruko.. She had only seen Haruko raise his voice a couple of times but Akito.. Akito was something else.. something more than evil.. She heard a soft cooing voice, and turned her attention back to Tohru. The doctor put his hands upon her shoulders, and made her kneel. She watched as Tohru put up a slight fight, but she did as she was suggested. He knelt down along with her, looking down at her. Miki thought she saw a slight smile upon the doctor's face as he looked at her. Tohru's back was straight.. she was trying to be so strong...
"This won't hurt a bit," The doctor said softly. His voice held guilt in it.. like he didn't want to. Miki watched, confused. How close was this girl to all the zodiac members? Did she grow on them so much that they actually held her in their hearts? Did they love her as a sister? Did they truly care for her? Why... She watched Tohru finally break down, her head slumping over, her body not as straight. Her hair rolled down her shoulders gracefully, feeling the time of happiness was over and was about to begin. Her body was shaking, a soft sob escaped from her lips. Miki could see... she could see the tears on the poor girl's face that slid down her cheeks and hit the floor. The doctor put his hand upon Tohru's shoulder, as to comfort her.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. She knew he was guilty.. her assumption must be true.. he must hold her dear to his heart. "I cannot go back on my order..."
"It's okay.." she said, a slight cheerfulness to her voice. Tohru lifted her shaky hands and they wrapped around his wrist. The doctor looked at her hands, a confused look upon his face. Her hands were cold. They laced around his wrist and she held back another sob.
"Don't forget me... okay?" she whispered, a slight laugh behind her words.
Footsteps..
Miki turned to the door. Footsteps.. it was Yuki and Kyo... She watched as they threw open the door. She could barely see their faces until there was a bright light that shown. Horror.. Horror and disbelief.. that was the look upon their face. The image of their faces stayed on Miki's mind. They must love her... to hold that face... She turned and watched Tohru fall limp to the ground. Thud... that was the noise that was made. That was the noise that filled the air and gave you goosebumps. Miki watched as the doctor ran his hand through the cascade of brown locks that were on the ground. She heard a soft whisper.. something she couldn't hear. She heard another thud. She looked, and noticed that Kyo was on his knee's, his head on the door frame. He pounded his fist against it.
"Damnit!" he cursed. Yuki just stood there... his eyes wide and surprised. Miki turned and looked at the limp figure there. She was gone, their little princess was gone.
A ceiling? Miki blinked her eyes, trying to focus on the ceiling above. When did the Main House have such low ceilings? She was warm... why was she warm when she was just engulfed in cold and darkness just second before? Miki slowly sat up, a wash cloth rolling down her head and falling into her covered lap. She looked at her lap. It was her bedsheets that caught the wash cloth, her navy blue bedsheets. There was a gentle knock and Miki looked up.
"Can I come in?" asked Masa, peeking in through the door.
"Yeah," said Miki, putting her hands on her lap, playing with the wash cloth.
"Are you feeling any better?" he asked, kneeling down next to Miki's bed. Miki nodded, handing him the wash cloth.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Well," said Masa.
"Natsu, go get Miki, its time for lunch," said Masa, putting some rice into a bowl.
"Why the hell do I gotta do it?" asked Natsu, glaring at Masa.
"Because I'm fixing lunch and you can't do any better. If not, you won't get anything to eat and you've already skipped breakfast and dinner last night," explained Masa, putting the rice on the table. Natsu glared at him, and got up from the table.
"Ass," he hissed, running up the stairs two at a time. Masa smiled.
"Works every time,"
Natsu reached the top of the stairs and noticed her door was closed. He walked over and banged on the door.
"Lunch is ready!" he called and turned to leave. He started down the stairs and stopped. He didn't hear anything move. He turned and walked back up, stopping in front of her door. "I said, LUNCH IS READY!" he called. Nothing. Natsu was beginning to get mad. "If you don't open up, I'm coming in. You won't hold me back from lunch again! You hear me!" he shouted. Still nothing. Natsu hissed. She had done this one time before, and this really made him mad. He grabbed the handle and opened the door. He walked in. "Alright, get your ass..." He stopped and stared at Miki's body laying on the ground. "Oh shit.." he said. He knelt down next to her and shook her. "Come on, get your ass up! Stop playing with me, I'll kick your ass if you are. You damn rat!" he shouted. Miki didn't move. "Shit," he said. He got up and ran down the stairs.
"MASA! Miki's laying on the floor and not movin. I tried to wake her, but it didn't work," he said. Masa looked at Natsu.
"Are you kiddin?"
"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Masa ran up the stairs, Natsu right behind, and ran into her room. He knelt down next to Miki and shook her. Natsu watched.
"She's in a deep sleep..." he explained. He slid his arms under the unconscious body and picked her up. "Move the sheets so I can put her in her bed. It would be horrible if she woke up with an ache in her body," he explained. Natsu pulled some of her covers back and Masa sat her down. He slid the covers over her and ran his hand over her forehead. He felt something in his fingertips and nodded. He knew what she was going through.. he knew. He smiled a little and Natsu looked at him.
"Why are you smiling?" he asked. Masa shook his head.
"You wouldn't understand. We must leave her alone.. she'll come too soon, I bet you," said Masa, turning and walked out of the room.
"What do you mean I wouldn't understand. Give me a break," said Natsu, following Masa out of the room.
"Oh," said Miki, listening to the story. She looked out her window. It was almost dusk, the sun was almost lost to the earth... It must have been.. today...
"Dinner will be ready soon, I'll send Natsu up to check on you then," explained Masa, rubbing the top of Miki's head as he stood. He exited the room, closing the door behind him.
The room was quiet. Miki laid back on her bed, her eyes looking around the room. This room had always felt weird to her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she couldn't figure out why it felt so weird. Her eyes traveled around the room and rested upon the desk in the corner. She refused to go through the desk, she didn't want to pry. Now, though, she wanted to go through it, go through the drawers and find out its secrets... It held something.. and she was going to find out what it is. She slowly slipped out from under the covers. She put her feet onto the floor and walked towards the desk. Her heart raced... there was something in there she knew she'd find.. and knew she'd like it. She placed her hand upon the handle of the first drawer. She pulled it open, and a journal slid to the front of the drawer. It was blue, and written on it was Do not touch, Property of Yuki. Her hand gently touched it, and a pain went up her hand. This.. this held the answers to her dream. She picked it up and walked over to her bed. She sat upon it, sliding the covers over her and stared at it. Moments passed, and she finally opened up the journal. It was empty. Her face went into a pout. Nothing? Nothing at all.
"This is a dumb notebook.. there is nothing here..." she said, sighing. She threw the notebook on the ground, and snuggled into her covers. She glanced at the ground and sat back up. The book was opened, and it was written on... The letter was in the middle of the book. She leaned over and grabbed it. She put it in her lap and began to read.
To who may read this,
It seems that I am gone and you have found my little journal and figured out that there was more to it than just blank pages... You are clever, more clever than I was earlier... We had received a letter from Ms Honda and she said she was coming home to spend some time with us. I was very happy, and so was the Cat. We figured that all would go right... that didn't happen. It started with Masa. He was the one who went to pick her up. When he was late getting back, I thought nothing of it.. that is where I became foolish. He had taken her to the Sohma Estate. I was outraged, and so was Kyo. We got in the car and sped off as fast as we could, even though I didn't like the thought being with the cat. We reached the estate and ran as fast as we could... but it was to late... Akito had already made Hatori erase Ms Honda's memories... You don't understand how bad I felt.. how helpless I felt looking at her still body on the floor. She forgot.. she forgot everything. At that moment I remembered what she told me.. she told me to be her friend if her memories were erased... I felt horrible.. I wouldn't be able to keep that promise.. one that meant so much to her. I couldn't go back to her, not after she had forgotten, it might be to traumatic on her. I had lost the battle. I wasn't the only one to lose the battle.. Kyo.. Kyo seemed like he would die right there. She was the one who pulled him out of his horrible form... the one person he ever let get close to him. I watched him collapse on the floor, his head hung in defeat. A day later, Kyo gave up and was locked up. Its hard to look at him now. His cage is a mess, many people had thrown fruit at him when he was put into the cage.. I watched it. Kazuma wasn't there... he couldn't stand to see his pupil locked up... Kyo's spirit had been crushed when Akito did what he did. I'm getting my things ready to go back to the Sohma House... There is no reason for me to keep running. I've failed, I'm like all the other Rats, going back to the house. I feel ashamed of myself, but there is nothing else I can do... she was the one who kept me strong. I saw her the other day, she was with a couple of people I've never seen. Must be her new friends from whatever university she came back from. I waited until she was alone and I walked up to her. Of course, her being her clumsy self, dropped her bag and I was there to help her. She thanked me, but seemed to be surprised when I told her "I'm sorry... Tohru" I quickly walked away, but I could hear her ask herself "How does he know my name?" Its sad that the first and last time that I said her name was when she doesn't even remember me... I must go, Shigure is telling me its time to go and that I don't want to anger Akito by being late...
God help us all,
Yuki
Miki closed the book gently with her shaking hand. How could Akito be so mean? She knew that she had some close encounters with Haruko.. and had heard stories through the walls at the Sohma house what he had done to people but... erase her memory? But what disturbed her most was the lock up of Kyo. She never heard of such a thing, though she remembered Satu mentioning it days earlier. How could they do such a thing? It was horrible and wrong... even if he's just the cat... She didn't like him, but she didn't hate him that much to have him locked up. Natsu..
Knock, knock
The door opened, and in popped a orange haired, red eyed male.
"Hey, are you hungry?" he asked. His eyes met Miki's and there was silence. Her eyes looked like they were hurt, in pain. Natsu's ear began to twitch. Why was she staring at him? He was startled when he heard a sob, and watched her pull the covers over her head and curl up. He closed the door and started at the closed door. Females were weird... but that was even weirder..
Miki stayed under the covers. She couldn't look at him anymore.. he'll be locked up and that is all... She had to deal with it.. but she didn't want to be... she didn't want to deal with it. He was another human being... he was like her, alone and unloved. She felt drowsy, and soon fell asleep, the moonlight tinkling into her room.
A/N: I hope you all have been enjoying this fanfic. I've actually had this chapter done for a while. Hopefully I'll get the next one, Birthday Blues, out before I leave for my cruise! Chow!
P.S. Haru Kisa Lover, I LOVE YOU -snugs- Nuff said
