A/N: Wow. That's all I can really say. Wow. I'm sooo happy you liked the first chapter! Hehehe… Well, since you've all been so nice, I'll tell you a secret. I have already three and a half chapters of this story and I update almost every night. But then again, it'll be a while before it's finished as, well, I'm not sure where it's going anymore and I'm still rewriting and editing… Heh. Please keep reading though! And replies to all my lovely reviewers at the end of the chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, and I'm not making any money off this, either.
Ratings: PG-13
Genre: Angst/ Drama
Warnings: Yoai
Main Characters: Sohma Ayame, Sohma Hatori, Sohma Shigure, and Sohma Yuki
Additional Notes: Heh. Well, in case you're curious, "Chi no Yume" means "Dreams of Blood". Oh, and it's still depressing.
Sakura Snows
Chapter 2: Chi No Yume
"Hatori!" yelled Shigure, stumbling into the dragon's house. Hatori had just called him and told him what had happened. By gods he hoped it was some sick prank but he knew Hatori and he knew the dread feeling in his gut. This was no prank. "Where the hell are you!"
The dog sprinted down the hall, looking into each room for the dragon and snake. He froze, however, when he reached the kitchen. His chocolate eyes widened in horror; the kitchen tiles were stained red, the liquid pooling in the grout and branching out in small, morbid rivers of crimson. It was smeared in some places and there were a pair of footprints leading out of the room. Whoever had left the prints must have been running judging by the way they slid.
Shigure felt numb. A curious feeling of dizziness swept over him as the nauseating stench of blood began to overpower him. He clung to the wall for support as his legs began to shake and the dizziness reached new heights.
"Shigure! We're in here!"
The dog wasted no time shaking his head to clear the nausea from his nose and sprinting toward the dragon's room. He flung open the old shoji to see Hatori kneeling next to a futon. On the futon was Ayame, pale as death, his breathing ragged and shallow, blood still dripping from one of his wrists as Hatori tried desperately to stitch the other.
"Shigure! Help!" cried the dragon. "Hold his wrist still for me…I can't do this by myself!"
The dog was at the dragon and Ayame's side in a flash. He held the snake's slender, bleeding wrist as gently as he could in his shaking hands as Hatori's needle dipped in and out of the pale, nearly see-through, skin, bringing the slashed sides together, hoping to impede the flow of crimson liquid. They quickly sewed the other wrist and sat back on their heels, nervous and shaking, staring at the unconscious snake.
Shigure swallowed as he watched Ayame's gaunt chest almost imperceptibly rise and fall in time with his shallow breaths, labored as they were. His chocolate eyes traveled up, past the still-wet blood shinning on the snake's linen kimono, to his bloodstained face. Ayame's silver moon-spun hair was spread around him, crimson rubies sparkling throughout its milky expanse, on the downy pillow. His golden eyes were closed behind thin lids, his mouth lax, his head slightly turned to the side as though he were…
No, screamed Shigure in his mind, violently shaking his head, covering his face with his shaking hands. Aaya will live…h-he'll…he'll be fine…he'll be fine!
Suddenly the dog saw, even though his eyes remained closed, a vision of the snake, hair sprinkled red, laying on a flowing bed of red and black satin, a coffin of lacquered ebony carved with intricate designs of snakes along the hammered silver inlay. His slender hands were folded delicately over his thin chest, crimson liquid flowering from his slashed wrists, his amber-gold eyes closed forever to the world; flowers and the scent of death were everywhere, mingling, grotesquely peculiar in such a grim scene.
"Aaya!" The dog's eyes flew open, his breathing ragged and erratic. "Oh gods…"
"Shigure," said Hatori, his voice tremulous, eyes wide. "Breathe…gods, breathe! I've had enough to deal with without you too!"
Shigure dragged in a breath and swallowed hard, still shaking. "H-Haa…san?" he whispered.
The dragon glanced at him. "Y-yes?"
"What…what now?"
Hatori didn't answer, still staring at the snake's pale visage, the perfect picture of grim. "I…I don't know Shigure," he said quietly. "We wait, I suppose…that's all we really can do…"
Shigure watched, stunned, as Hatori got to his feet and left the room, his emerald eyes wide and dazed. He looked back at the snake and his face softened, chocolate eyes glassy and wounded. "Oh Aaya, why?"
Unsurprisingly, Ayame didn't respond. The dog gently stroked his silver hair, tears collecting in his chocolate eyes. Memories of the snake floated through his mind, some half remembered, most clear as crystal, bright as golden suns. His friend of twenty-seven years, short only a month or so, had once been bright but a darkness had claimed him somehow, Shigure knew, pained by the knowledge.
Ignorance is bliss Haa-san…truly…
The silver strands were soft as they flowed like water through his trembling fingers. Dark memories hovered at the edge of his mind as he prayed for a lost soul."Please don't let go Aaya, don't give up…not yet…please…"
/\\\
"Gure-san…"The dog glanced up, slightly surprised to see Ayame standing there, clad in a loose robe, dimmed gold eyes seeming lost as he looked about the familiar room. Shigure frowned, going to his friend, guiding the snake to a seat at the low table. "Aaya, you should be sleeping…"
Ayame didn't answer, eyes downcast, lost. "Wha…what happened…?"
Chocolate eyes looked away, loathe to remember what he knew. What had happened again. "You…you did it again last night, Aaya. What was wrong this time?"
Silver glinted as the sun bounced off it, refracting the light and drenching the figure in soft golden radiance, making his wide confused eyes appear all the more dim. The snake swallowed, shivering. "I can't sleep…I see it every time…"
"Aaya, it's not going to happen," sighed the dog. "I promise you."
"But—Tori-san! He was covered in blood! He was lying there…so broken…I can't bear to see it again! Even if it is only a dream…"
"You need to sleep Aaya," reasoned the dog. "If you don't, I'll have to call Haa-san…you don't want him to see you like this, do you?"
"No! Don't, please!" Ayame gripped the fabric of Shigure's kimono sleeve, eyes wide, frightened now, his face as pale and sickly as it had been the day before. "Please Gure-san…"
"Will you sleep then?" Silence from the snake; Ayame looked away, shivering worse than before. "Aaya, you have a choice: don't sleep and have Haa-san see you this way, or sleep and risk the dream. Which would you rather?"
Ayame shrunk into himself, curling into the dog's side, Shigure's hand stroking his hair. "I…I don't know…"
Shigure sighed again, wishing for a better situation, a better time for his friend. "Aaya, you need to stop…I'm sure it's what's giving you these dreams… I know it is…"
Translucent turquoise tears were spilling silently down the sunken cheeks. Ayame's golden eyes were pleading, beseeching as he looked up at Shigure's comforting face. "Please…Gure-san, I…I want to stop…please…help me…"
The dog smiled softly, pulling the snake to him. "Of course, Aaya; of course… I would never abandon you. I'll help you…but you have to get some rest for me to do that… Can you?"
Ayame swallowed dryly. Is gaze turned inward, weighing consequences, means, and ends. He looked back at Shigure, eyes like a small, frightened child. He nodded slowly, almost imperceptibly. "I…I'll try…"
Shigure's smile widened slightly, in admiration of his friend's will, his strength, and determination. "Good…then let's get you back in bed, all right?"
"…All right…thank you…Gure-san…"
/\\\
Shigure sighed, brushing back Ayame's bangs from the closed eyes. "Aaya, I know it's hard, this life; believe me, I know." Ayame's pale face was serene, frozen in time it seemed. "But I know you can make it. You proved that a long time ago. Don't let go, hold onto the delusion Aaya; don't let this reality kill you…please…"
Light played across Ayame's face, casting away the shadows and for a moment, Shigure could remember the happier Ayame, the one that didn't worry excessively, didn't doubt, wasn't bitter at the short-handed life he'd been given, at the horrors his eyes had seen…
Beautiful, thought Shigure. You still have so much to come back to Aaya, don't abandon it…please…
/\\\
His footsteps echoed, it seemed, such a hollow sound in his ears; unfocused. The dragon made his way back to the kitchen and stood in the doorway staring vacantly, a lost and dazed glaze over his emerald eyes, at the crimson blood webs across the floor. A shiver raced up his spine; he shuddered.
Mechanically, he went to the sink and wetted a rag with scalding water, not caring or flinching as the boiling liquid burned his trembling hands. He turned back to the bloodstained floor and knelt, beginning the laborious task of washing away the crimson from the grout. It took him all of an hour, the acrid smell assailing his nose and clouding his mind.
When he was done, he threw the rag away, not even bothering to try to clean it. He gazed at the room again, but all he could see was the bleeding, prone form of Ayame dying on the tile.
"Friend… Yes, that's all I am, your patient, your friend; someone to help you when your so called perfect love can't pull herself together enough to spare you pain, someone to help you pick up the pieces when she left without a backward glance. Yes, I'm your friend."
Hatori swallowed; he could feel bile at the back of his throat, he could see nothing but red covering the floor, the walls, the counters…
"Fine! It's you…you're what's bothering me so damn much! It's your fault!"
He looked down and his emerald eyes widened in horror; his hands were soaked in the thick crimson substance.
His stomach lurched and the dragon sprinted across the hall to the bathroom and retched, barely making it to the toilet in time. His stomach heaved, and he closed his eyes, trying to swallow despite the foul taste in his mouth. He rested his cheek against the cool white porcelain, the cold of it numbing his skin. His eyes opened halfway, gazing at nothing; the emerald orbs were vacant and hollow.
Ayame… His lips silently formed the name, speaking it only to himself. "Why…?"
Again the vision of the dying snake, the crimson covering his cold body and staining his alabaster skin. The dragon's stomach heaved, the bile rising; he stopped fighting it and retched into the toilet again. He panted, swallowing the putrid taste as he slowly got to his feet; he wiped his mouth and gargled, desperately trying to clear his mouth of the taste. When he was satisfied, he looked up, into the mirror over the small sink.
His reflection stared back at him, the black hair mussed, the face pale, and the emerald eyes glazed. He reached out and gently ran his fingers across the image. His lips moved but no sound came out as he silently mouthed 'stay…why…please, don't leave me…', his lips feeling the words, wishing they would reach the cataleptic snake, comfort him, protect him…
Ayame…don't leave… Don't go… I…I need you here… I love… He stopped. What was he possibly thinking! He loved Kana! Kana had been it for him…no more… But Ayame…
He shook his head. I love him like a brother…nothing more… He glanced back at the kitchen as he made his way to his room. But still…I couldn't bear it if he left…
/\\\
A/N: Well, you've made it this far. Congratulations. Now, even more mysteries… But it's not as much of a cliffhanger this time. You may now thank me for that. (Kidding!) Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far and I apologize for the chapters being so short.
To My Most Wonderful Reviewers:
ladysnape575- Yes! That's the story all right, angsty and coffee—addictive! And please, don't explode. I don't feel like washing you out of the carpet… Thank you so much for reviewing too! I feel so loved!
FireChibi- What! You simply MUST read the manga! There's so much MORE about Aaya-chan-sama in it! Yes, yes! Someone who shares my view on Aaya-chan-sama! How very refreshing! Thank you so much!
dimonyo-anghel- My sentiments exactly. Truly, Aaya-chan-sama got the short end of the stick in this one… But I do agree; die stupid old people who said Aaya-chan-sama was filthy! Thanks for the review!
Zukinn Chan- Thanks for waiting! And your review did sway me a little. Aaya-chan-sama lives for another chapter. I really hope you liked this one too…personally, I think the story is just getting darker and darker…it's one big dark fest! Thanks for a wonderful review!
SamusKaiba:TheNeglected- Thanks! I changed the rating for you. In anycasem thank you so much for review! Hope you keep reading!
All of you; thank you soo much! And please, keep reading and reviewing!