Promise
-0-
Author Notes: I do not own Fruits Basket. Please do not due :) Thank you.
-0-
Yuki looked out the window into the forest that surrounded the small house. A year... it had almost been a year since Tohru had left for college. He remembered the day that she left. She was so frantic about forgetting something and afraid that she didn't leave something for them. There were tears in her eyes when she left. She bowed to leave, but Yuki had stopped her and gave her a hug. She began to cry, holding the little mouse. He remembered that soon he was joined with a cat at his side. At that moment, he didn't care that the cat was next to him, he wasn't going to ruin Yuki's last moments with Tohru. Yuki looked at the letter that Tohru had sent just that week. She would be coming home soon, and he couldn't wait to see her. He glanced at his table. There sat a fruits basket. He knew Tohru enjoyed them. His eyes looked over the various fruits... but in the middle of all the fruits was a single rice ball with a gorgeous looking plum right in the middle of it. He turned his attention back out the window. He couldn't wait.
Kyo lay on the roof, his eyes looking up at a passing cloud. Soon. Kyo sighed. It seemed like forever since he had seen Tohru, she didn't even come home for holidays... she stayed at that stupid school. Kyo rolled onto his side and stared at the tiles. He sometimes liked to blame Tohru's leaving on Shigure... Shigure was the one who suggested that Tohru go off to study to become a pediatric nurse... saying she'd be good with kids. Kyo didn't think she could handle it, but she got into the school she wanted and she was happy... She was happy, that was all that mattered to him... He wanted Tohru to be happy and if going off to school made her happy... then so be it. Kyo's ear twitched as he heard a soft voice call for him to come down for dinner.
Shigure ate his rice slowly, his eyes darting between Kyo and Yuki. Ever since Tohru left, the two rarely talked to each other. When they did speak it was short and sweet and they went their seperate ways. Shigure knew that it was because Tohru was gone... They didn't want to kill each other before she got back. Shigure gave a small smile.
"So, Tohru will be here soon won't she? A week or two maybe?" he spoke, a smile upon his face. "Oh, our little Tohru! We'll have our flower once again," Shigure let out a small, happy sigh. He felt the stares of Yuki and Kyo upon him and Shigure laughed. Yuki slowly got up and left for his room. Moments later, Kyo followed. Shigure sipped his tea. Those two...
-0-
What to say, what to say, thought Tohru, a pencil in her hand. She looked at the blank paper, trying to figure out what she wanted to write.
"Tohru, that doesn't look like you are studying for your test," came a voice from behind Tohru. Tohru dropped her pencil and laughed.
"Yeah Minako, I know. I'll get right on that," said Tohru. She picked up her blank letter and opened the top drawer of her desk. She saw an envelope in the desk and looked at the return address. She flipped the envelope over and stuffed her letter into the drawer. She slowly closed it, pulled out her book and opened it up. She played with her pencil, but her mind wasn't set on her work at the moment.
-0-
"Open, please open," whimpered Tohru as she fiddled with her combination on her school mailbox. I wonder if Uo or Hana sent me a letter back... Her fingers fiddled with the combination and she let out another whimper. She could never open up her mailbox.
"Honda, are you having trouble?" asked a voice from behind Tohru. Tohru froze and gave a small laugh.
"Y...yeah," she muttered. She turned around and met a pair of chocolate brown eyes. The man smiled at her.
"Let me help," he said. Tohru stepped aside and felt little as the man opened up her mailbox.
"Thank you so much Sano... but you didn't have to help me," she said as Sano handed her her mail. Sano smiled and gave a small shrug. Tohru began to flip through her mail as Sano spoke.
"No problem Honda, the mailboxes can be..." but he soon stopped. Tohru's bashful face had changed to a worried face. "Honda... are you okay?" Tohru's eyes were fixed upon the return address of the envelope. Sano tilted his head and placed a hand upon Tohru's shoulder. Tohru flinched and looked up.
"Huh?" she asked, just now noticing that Sano was trying to get her attention.
"Are you okay? You looked like someone died," said Sano. Sano bit the inside of his lip. What if the address was from a funeral home? "Sorry, I didn't mean that. I should think before I say something like that," said Sano, hoping he didn't offend Tohru. Tohru gave a small little smile.
"No, no one died. It's just... from a friend I haven't seen for a long time... Stunned me a bit. I'll talk with you later Sano," explained Tohru, pulling away and walking away slowly. Sano watched as Tohru walked away. I don't think she was telling me the truth... Something just doesn't seem right...
Tohru walked into her dorm room, shutting the door quietly. She called out Minako's name to see if she was in the bathroom. No one responded and she knew she was alone. She walked to her bed and slowly sat upon it. She slipped off her shoes and opened up the letter. Her eyes began to read over it. Her hands shook as she read more and more. Tears began to form in her eyes and she crumpled the paper up. This isn't true... he's lying... She thought to herself... This isn't true... it isn't true... Tohru walked over to her desk and opened up her drawer. She pulled out her blank letter and set it aside. She then pulled out a stack of letters, all from the same person. She stared at them and threw them in her waste basket. She couldn't believe anything in any of the letters... She couldn't... If she did, it would hurt her more than it did now. Tohru made her way over to her bed and slowly sat upon it. Her eyes traveled to the waste can. They can't be true...
-0-
"Honda?" Tohru looked up from her book at the voice. Sano looked down at her. "Hey, are you all right? You have been down the past couple of days. Does it have something to do with that letter?" questioned Sano. Tohru gave a small smile and shook her head.
"No, of course not... I've just... had a lot on my mind," she said softly, her smile soft and gentle. Sano stared at her.
"Are you sure? I feel like you're lying..." explained Sano, taking a seat next to Tohru. Tohru looked at him then looked away. She couldn't look at him... she couldn't tell a straight out lie while staring at someone... she felt horrible for not telling him the truth when he asked before. Sano sighed and put a hand upon Tohru's shoulder.
"If someone is bothering you, I'll take them out. I have connections you know," said Sano, trying to lighten the moon. Tohru gave a small laugh, but a few tears rolled down her cheek. She didn't want help... she had to deal with the letters on her own. Sano noticed the tears on her cheeks and pulled Tohru into an embrace.
"I'm here for you," Sano whispered. Tohru's eyes went wide as she felt herself being embraced. A hug... Her arms shakily wrapped around Sano to return the hug, her eyes closed. Nothing happened... Nothing...
-0-
Tohru fiddled with her combination again, but she finally got it opened by herself. She was still hoping to get a letter from Uo or Hana, but she pulled out a different letter. Her eyes fell upon the address. She shut the box gently... The same address... the same as before. She leaned against the boxes and opened up the letter. Her eyes read over the words carefully...
Dear Tohru,
Do you think that you can do anything? You are a helpless child living in a dream. You will never be able to hug them... you will never succeed in bringing them hope. You deserted them for better schooling, leaving them in the dust. Do you know what they think of you now? They hate you, they feel betrayed. They talk to me, I know. They must answer when I ask them. They are heartbroken that you left. The cat... he hurt himself bad because you left, he almost died. What if he died? What would that feel upon your conscious huh? You don't love them... you don't care for them. If you cared, you wouldn't have left them. You are a horrible and selfish person. Yuki... he told me he never wanted to see you again... never. He couldn't look at someone who deserted him yet again. I hope that when you return you don't expect to be welcomed...
See you soon...
Tohru closed her eyes and crumpled the letter. It wasn't as bad as some of the others, but it was still hurtful. Why must he stab at her? Why must he hate her so... She knew that he wasn't really saying the truth but... what if Kyo did try to hurt himself because she wasn't there to help him with his problems? What if Yuki did think she abandoned him? She was scared to ask them, afraid that they wouldn't tell her the truth... Tohru looked at the wall in front of her. What was she going to do?
-0-
Yuki looked at Shigure and cocked an eyebrow. He had his suit on as he looked in the mirror to slick back his hair.
"You are all dressed up..." said Yuki. Shigure smiled.
"Yes, Tohru said that I looked very nice all dressed up... so I decided to do it just for her," explained Shigure as he finished prepping himself. Yuki frowned as Shigure laughed. Shigure glanced at Yuki and smiled. "I'll bring back Tohru safe and sound," Yuki shook his head as Shigure walked out of the house. Shigure had finally got his drivers license and wasn't a bad driver... he just got distracted easily and took his eyes off the road a lot. Yuki walked up the stairs and made his way to his room. He entered the room and walked to the window. He watched as Shigure pulled out of the driveway and drove down the road. Soon... Tohru would be back and the house would feel full again... it will feel... right.
Shigure sat at the terminal, a magazine in his hands. He slowly flipped through the pages, looking at the pictures if nothing else. He was excited to see Tohru and couldn't wait to see if she had changed at all. The plane pulled up and Shigure put his magazine down. He stood and watched the people walk into the airport from the plane. He smiled when he noticed Tohru stepped out. She looked around and noticed Shigure. She walked towards him and gave him a smile.
"Hello Tohru," said Shigure.
"Hello Shigure," she said, one of her bags in her hand. Shigure put a hand upon her shoulder.
"Let's get your bags," Tohru gave a nod.
-0-
The drive was quiet. Tohru watched the scenery pass by quickly as they drove. Shigure had tons of questions, but he felt that Tohru didn't want to be bugged. Tohru sighed softly as she looked at her hands. Is this the answer... Tears threatened her eyes. Yes.. in case things are true... Its right... I... I know it is...
"Shigure..." spoke Tohru softly. Shigure glanced over at Tohru.
"Yes?" he asked. Something was wrong. Her tone of voice... he never heard it before... It sent a small shiver of fright up his spine.
"Can you..." she began. How was she going to say this? It scared it.. it truly scared her on what she was about to ask.
"Yes..."
"Take me to the Sohma Estate?"
-0-
Yuki paced up and down his room.
"Where are they?" he asked. He was scared. They were late... He tried to settle himself down. Her flight could have been delayed... there could have been traffic... Yuki sighed. He knew he shouldn't worry... he just wanted to see her again. He could see lights pull up outside and he ran to his window. Shigure was back... Shigure was back. Yuki took a big breath and checked himself over real quick. He straightened out his shirt and ran his hands over his pants. He could hear footsteps come up the stairs. He ran to his door and looked out it. His smile faded when he noticed that it was just Shigure standing there and not Tohru.
"Where is she!" he asked. He wanted to know why Shigure was hiding Tohru. Kyo peaked out from his room, his eyes upon Shigure. Kyo had a funny feeling... a very funny feeling and he did not enjoy it. Shigures' eyes were darker than usual and it made Kyo wonder what had happened on the way back.
"Tohru... she..." he began. He took a deep breath and looked Yuki straight in the eye. "She asked to be taken to the Sohma House." Yuki's heart began to beat. She asked... to be taken to the Sohma house? How... why...
"She what!" he finally shouted, his vocal chords coming back to him. She couldn't have. Yuki pushed pass Shigure, Kyo following him. He had to stop her... he just had to. Yuki got into the car and started it. He heard the other door open and close. He looked over and met the eyes of Kyo. His expression was stern and Yuki put on his seatbelt. He didn't care that the cat was in the car with him... he just had to make sure that Tohru was all right.
Tohru looked up at the Sohma Estate. She knew that she had been standing outside the estate for what seemed like ages. She was doing the right thing... she was... Those letters... they had scared her... She closed her eyes as she stood there. She felt afraid.. that she might be doing the wrong thing... But the letters... they felt so... trusting... They felt true... She had had dreams about all the letters that she had received... she began to get ideas that felt like they really had happened... memories of feeling uncertain around the Sohmas... something that she couldn't remember feeling... The wind blew gently as she stood there. She took a deep breath... She had to go... she had to do this...
Tohru walked into the Estate, the gates closing behind her. She was scared... she was really scared... She knew that would happen if she continued on the path she was going... she knew it.. but she had to. A few stray leaves from fall crunched under her feet as she walked up to the main house. She entered it gracefully and began to walk slowly to a certain room... She knew where to go... she had a gut feeling on exactly where to go. With each step her heart seemed to beat faster. She had to stop several times to compose herself. She reached the door and stopped. She could turn back... she could turn back and go back to what she knew... but she felt that that would be wrong... The letters would continue.. the mental images would stay... the heaviness of those words she had read would be forever in her mind... She was only a girl... just a simple girl who fell into a blessing and a curse when she met the Sohmas... the Sohmas... Her hand slowly opened the door.
The room was dark and cold. Tohru closed her eyes as she felt the coldness of the room engulf her. There were people in the room... she could feel the presence of them... Her eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and could make out the figures that were there... There were two... One of them was laying down while the other one was standing. Tohru kept quiet, not sure on what to say. There were several minutes of quietness and finally, someone spoke.
"I'm glad you have come," The voice was cool and collect. Tohru opened her eyes slowly. Akito... His voice ran down her spine...
"Yes..." she choked out, feeling it rude not to say something to him. She could feel Akito's eyes upon her... but she felt the other set of eyes upon her as well.
"Yes... thank you," said the second voice. Hatori... Hatori was one of the Sohma's who was hit with falling in love and having that ripped from him... He had to erase his own love's memories... Her heart began to sink thinking about it... Hatori... Tohru felt tears threatening her eyes just thinking about Hatori's past alone... she wasn't even thinking about what she was about to do.
"You know..." began Akito, "that you have gone quite far without having your memories erased... Thinking you might be able to break the curse... You are wrong, you've always been wrong. You will not break the curse... you can't... Besides... you abandoned the ones who thought you cared about them... Just abandoned them... How could you do that to them? They trusted you... and you let them down by leaving.. tsk tsk..." explained Akito. Hatori glanced at Akito, his face blank but on the inside, he felt horrible. He didn't agree with Akito, but he couldn't stand in his way... He felt extremely horrible. Tohru stood there, a soft sob escaping her lips. Everything he said... everything he said seemed so real to Tohru. She couldn't understand why everything was sinking into her... She shouldn't be there.. she shouldn't... She should leave.. she should run back to Kyo and Shigure and Yuki... This was too real to actually be real... How could she listen to letters of bashing when she knew, deep down that they weren't true? Did she just want to escape the pain... She had so much pain in her life, did she just want to forget about something to make it less hurtful? Was forgetting the Sohmas... right? Her hands balled up... She was wrong... she shouldn't be where she was... she should be back in the house in the woods... But now...
Hands were placed upon her shoulders and Tohru looked up. Her eyes met one eye... Hatori's good eye... his right eye... He began to push her down into a sitting position. Her body tensed up but she felt the grip on her shoulders comforting... Hatori had squeezed her shoulders protectively... She soon found herself on her knees. Hatori watched her... He didn't want to... he couldn't do what he was about to do... This girl... this girl had come so close to all the Sohmas... she gave them hope... She gave him hope... Hatori knelt in front of Tohru. He noticed how straight her back was... She was trying to put up a fight... He felt that she finally figured out what she needed to do.. but unfortunately.. it was too late... His fingers lightly brushed a couple strands of her loose hair.
"This won't hurt a bit..." he whispered... He didn't know if getting your memory erased hurt or not... he never felt it happen to himself... he only did it to other people... They seemed at ease afterwards while they lay upon the ground... but he wasn't sure at all. Then it happened. Tohru's back finally curled... her head going limp and her hair cascading over her shoulders. Her shoulders shook while she let out a couple sobs. She knew it was drawing close... she knew and she couldn't stop it. She pulled at her memories of times with Yuki and the others... When she first found out about them... Seeing Yuki in his dress... Kyo in his monster form... Walking down the road, hand in hand with both Yuki and Kyo... Their smiles upon their faces... She knew that soon it was going to be gone... She would forget them and all the memories she shared with them...
"I'm sorry..." said Hatori, his voice cracking. He couldn't do it... but... he had to. His hand fell upon Tohru's shoulder to try to comfort her. Tohru sniffed loudly as her shaky hands encircled around Hatori's wrist. Hatori's eyes fell upon her small hands around his wrist. They were cold... Cold like the winter snow... Tohru held back a sob as her heart began to race.
"Don't forget me... Okay?" she asked, a little cheerfulness to her voice. Hatori was taken back by her words... Hatori slowly moved the hand with Tohru's hands wrapped around it slowly to her face...
Yuki slammed the door shut and ran to the gate. He couldn't wait for it to open and began to climb it. It took him no time at all the scale the wall and jump to the ground. Kyo followed close behind, scared on what they were going to find. The two ran through the halls, their hearts beating as fast as they were running. They turned a corner and ran straight ahead. There was a door. Soon... they would get there soon... Ms Honda.. please... be safe... The two made it to the door and opened it. A bright light greeted them as they tried to get through the door. There was a soft thud that greeted their ears as the flash faded away. Horror... that were the looks upon Yuki and Kyo's face... Tohru's body lay limp on the floor. Hatori looked down at Tohru and ran his hand through her brown strands of hair.
"Never..." whispered Hatori, so only he could hear "I will never forget..."
Yuki leaned against the door frame as he looked at the limp figure. Tohru... She was gone... gone from them forever. Kyo fell to his knees, his head leaning against the door frame. How could it be? How could she be gone? How.. how...
"Dammit!" cried Kyo, his hands curling up into balls. Tears were near his eyes. She was gone... his support... was gone... Now what was left of him.
"Get that ugly girl out of my sight..." spoke Akito, his back to the others. A small smile was upon his lips.
-0-
Yuki lay in bed that night, his eyes staring at his black ceiling. She was gone... The image of Tohru's limp body always appeared in his head when he closed his eyes. It was near three in the morning and Yuki couldn't sleep... He wasn't the only one... He could hear Kyo banging things in his room around two... but now all he could hear were soft murmurs and most likely.. sobs. The house felt heavy and dark. Yuki sat up in his bed and walked to his window. He opened it up, feeling a cool breeze enter his room, but after a moment... it still felt hot and heavy, even with the cool air wisping into the room. Yuki walked back to his bed and sat upon it. Soon, he fell into an unpeaceful slumber.
-0-
"I'm done," spoke Kyo the next morning. Yuki looked at him.
"What?" asked Yuki.
"I said I'm done with this shit. I'm going back... Going back to that house..." said Kyo. Yuki stood up.
"Are you crazy? You can't give up like that." exclaimed Yuki, furious.
"You don't understand... She was all that was keeping me here... she was the reason why I hung on as long as I did... Don't tell me you would still be here without her too you stupid ass rat... There is no reason to run anymore... Without her..." explained Kyo. Yuki stood there...
And Kyo was locked up.
Yuki stood near the cage, his eyes upon Kyo. A week... a week had passed. Kyo's cage was a mess. Fruit was over the bars and the inside was horrible with rotten fruit and bowls and food. Kyo sat in a chair in the corner. Yuki watched from a distance.. He had yet to see Kazuma visit his adopted son... Maybe it was too hard on him to see Kyo in the cage... the same cage that held his grandfather years before. Kyo's eyes held nothing in them anymore... all they held was hurt, thats all. His soul had been kicked out to the dogs when he watched Tohru lose her memories... Yuki walked towards the cage and looked at Kyo.
"Cat..." he spoke. Nothing. "... Kyo..." Kyo glanced up at Yuki. His cheeks were stained... tear stained. Yuki felt horrible, staring at the wrecked Kyo.
"Am I something to be stared at?" growled Kyo. "Are you going to stare at me like the others? Just because you are the damn rat doesn't mean I'm not better than you are!" shouted Kyo. He clenched onto the bars and glared at Yuki. Their eyes locked for what seemed forever.
"You aren't the only person hurt by this you stupid cat! Don't think that you took it all... You aren't the only one hurting, so stop acting like that!" shouted Yuki, anger building up inside of him.
"I am hurting, thank you for pointing that out you dumb ass rat... I could kill you right now, saying that I didn't take it all... She was my support damnit.. she believed in me and now no one does!" Yuki glared at Kyo.
"Shut up! She cared about you, she cared about me. She believed in you yes... but other people believed in you too you dumb ass cat... you just didn't think about looking," spat Yuki. Kyo glared at him.
"You know what hurts worse? She's happy now! I bet you she is a lot more happy now than what she was before... She doesn't have to worry about hugging people anymore... She doesn't have to worry about ugly creatures... Cursed people... And you know what hurts me more? I told myself all I wanted was that she could be happy... But how can I be truthful to that when I know she went to see Akito by herself?" said Kyo, his eyes cast down. Yuki stared at him. Was she happier now?
"Cat..."
"You two stop!" came a voice. Shigure walked up to the two of them and glared at them.
"Stop acting so childish... What if Tohru..." but he stopped. Yuki glared at Shigure.
"I'm leaving..." Yuki turned and walked away from the other two.
-0-
Yuki walked down the street, his eyes cast down. It had been a week... a week without Tohru... it hurt a lot more than a full year without her... For he knew she wasn't coming back to them... ever. Thats it.. He thought. Kyo's right.. She was his support... and she was mine too... I can't keep running away anymore... I must... go back.... Yuki sighed. He couldn't keep running.. he was like a rat looking for cheese in a maze... he ran into a dead end... and he would never find the cheese now... Never.
"Tohru, keep up!" Yuki looked up. His heart skipped a couple of beats.
"Hey, thats not fair!" called a girl with a golden smile upon her lips. Tohru... Yuki watched as her friends ran from her... They were different... they weren't Uo or Hana... so they must be some of her college friends...
If I do get my memories erased... Promise you'll still be my friend, okay?
Tohru ran after her friends, but her books slipped from under her arms and fell to the ground. Tohru let out a squeak and bent down to pick them up. She felt so clumsy as she crouched in the middle of the sidewalk, picking up books. She went to reach for her last book, but another hand grabbed it. She looked up and her eyes met a pair of purple eyes. Purple eyes... She took the book and smiled.
"Thank you sir. I'm so clumsy sometimes that I'm surprised I still have my head on my shoulders," she smiled at him and laughed a bit. She felt the man staring at her and she looked back at him. "Sir..."
"I'm sorry... Tohru..." whispered the man, getting up and walking away. Her heart felt like it stopped.
"How does he know my name..." Could that be... one of the boys her best friends Uo and Hana asked about... They said he had purple eyes... But she never remembered a purple eyed boy.. or a person with orange hair and red eyes...
Yuki walked away quickly, his eyes cast down. The first time he said her name... she didn't remember him... Yuki stopped in front of a shop and looked into the window. A fruit basket was sitting in the window sill. His eyes looked over all the fruit. Next to the fruit basket was a single rice ball, plain. Yuki stared at the rice ball. I'm sorry Tohru... I cannot be your friend anymore... I cannot keep my promise...
The End.
-0-
Author Notes: I hope you enjoyed this little story... I knew I wanted to write it once I did chapter 13, and I'm happy with it... It came out a lil longer than what I thought... Made me sad to write the story.. :( Hope you enjoyed the story! All comments are welcomed. :)