Enjoy.
Cracked Webbing
Disclaimer This is a Fruits Basket fanfic, I own the FIC not the actual SERIES. If I did it would have been much darker with HaruxKyo sex in it.
Mild Warning A THOROUGHLY MARKED lemon/lime will be in later chapters. If you report me I'll haunt your ass until you commit suicide or I'll just send you pictures of a very sad and distraught Kyou until the day you die. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
-...- are memories.
Chapter 9
It had been a while, a long while since a group of Sohma clan members showed up at the hospital's front desk. It had been too long since he last saw Kyou, the cat being forced into a car that sped away. He lost count of the days that passed since he had begged for Akito to let him be by the cat's side. The head of the family had beaten him with a harsh furry that he couldn't understand. He had shouted at Haru about things he couldn't understand, they seemed so random from how Akito knew more than people thought to how Kyou is finally safe. All he remembered was even though he was hit and cut he was still pleading, still trying to make the man understand how badly he needed to be with the cat. He had lost consciousness at some point, he wasn't sure, but when he woke he had the familiar sent of Kyou around him. The bi-colored youth was in Kazuma's house, nestled in the bed that would forever have the subtle sent of the one he loved. He was alone, yet Kyou was so close. He had tried countless times to gain permission to see Kyou and had failed, he then snuck into the inner sanctum of the Sohma complex each time being caught before he could get to the small place that held the cat.
Now all he could do was wait, wait until Akito would drop his guard and he could steal away the redhead. He already started to hear tails from other family members as to odd sounds in the night. Cries and sobs, air that was perfumed with a haunting melody of comfort, sorrow and fear. Momiji had once come to school looking pale, jumping when ever a sudden sound was made. He had tried to ask what had happened and all the rabbit could do was stare at him with distant eyes. The next day he seemed fine as if nothing had happened, but Haru knew his young cousin well. The boy was hiding something. He was currently trying to figure out what could cause such a reaction when he walked into the yard that he couldn't quite recognize. A gentle breeze caused his stomach to twist in disgust from the thick sent of rot.
Covering his nose, he twisted around finding that he had no idea where he had come from and there was no exit at sight. The garden like area held sprigs of bamboo, a small pond, lush grass, and a walk way made out of small stones with some larger ones making a pathway to what almost looked like a hut. Haru, continued to scan the area finding a strange chill rake through his senses. There were no birds, no bugs, no sound only him and the dying stench.
Something dropped, as if he had been holding it. The round object bounced, its green color softened by the sunlight, the yellow swirls melding into the golden day. Grey eyes watched as it lurched forward, the bounces lessening until it was in a roll. His body froze as tiny tan hands picked it up. Words stuck in his throat at the sight of the little boy in front of him. He couldn't be any older than four, the ball just as big as his head as he held it to his chest. Red eyes seemed unhappy, the orange hair pushed in an unfelt breeze.
"K-Kyou," he breathed was the boy ran off.
"No! Kyou wait!" He didn't know why he chased after the boy, he was much to young to be the cat he cared for, but he needed to know; know something that didn't even have a question to it.
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After Kyou was taken away Yuki was determined to find out what the cat wanted to talk about. It had to be important if he was going to be civil with him the way he was. He had tried to talk to Kazuma and see if the man knew anything but the devastated father was lucky if he didn't run into walls he was so depressed let alone think. All the rat could get out of the martial arts instructor was the fact that when he came home there had been some unusual books that he believed that Kyou had purchased. He had collected said books and was still currently thumbing through their macabre pages. Every single one was a collection of ghost stories that stemmed from foul deaths and curses.
He wasn't stupid, far from it, he was starting to piece together the hidden message that the cat could never convey. The amethyst eyed youth was creating a script for the events that had happened in the hospital and out. He just needed a more 'professional' opinion. So thus, he had spoken with many paranormal investigators, each one playing off what he had to say as things that can be easily explained; Someone swinging down a rock tied to a rope from the roof of the hospital to break the window. Perfume in the air vents of the room and Hatsuharu's cologne was stronger than it, unexplained sounds came from a frequency that Kyou could hear that human's typically couldn't, and hallucinations done in by the medication he was on teamed with insomnia.
Yuki was tempted to punch the last paranormal investigator that told him the same theory. They were all quacks that had no idea what the hell they were doing. It was trying to explain a color to someone who has been blind since birth and he was more than frustrated.
He kicked a rock that clacked and clunked against the sidewalk. It was very late and he didn't want to go home. Shigure was still brooding because he was missing the one person he got the most entertainment from, and Tohru... Tohru needed time to herself so that she could recover from the fact that she may never see one of her best friends ever again. That left him here -in the middle of an empty street- trying to figure out what to do. He wanted to help, help them all. Shigure; who allowed him such little freedom but gave him a home that was a sanctuary from the Sohma's main house, Tohru; she had healed him, nursed his bloodied psyche and broken spirit, and... Kyou; he always had his reasons to be mean, to have his temper and squabble, but when push came to shove he was there for Yuki they were...
The rat stopped in his meandering steps, he finally figured it out. The concept blind-siding him on this idol Tuesday, the reason why he picked on the cat, why he pushed and shoved verbally and physically. He smiled sadly, he should have realized it much earlier on.
"He's the brother I always wanted but could never accept," he spoke it out loud as if his words would etch them into stone.
"No, I'm telling you that paranormal investigators have no idea what they're talking about."
Yuki's attention snapped over to two people walking down the street on the opposite side of the road. There was a tall woman, odd build with short brown hair that spiked in the back with bangs that framed her face, by her accent she was American. Beside her was a boy that was a few inches shorter than himself and looked pretty ordinary for a Japanese youth. He strained to hear their conversation, not caring that he was being rude by staring at them.
The tomboy shoved her hands in her jean pockets as they stopped under a street light, Yuki could see the scars on her shoulders, most likely self inflicted.
"How many times do I have to tell you that you just come to me if you have any questions?"
"But I didn't want to bother you with this," the boy's voice was very tender, soft. "Besides don't you think it's weird to ask the person you want to help /for/ help?"
The woman gave a growling sigh and slumped her shoulders, head hanging. Yuki gave a small smile, the air he felt around them kind of reminded him of Kyou and Hatsuharu. With that thought, he was comfortable to approach them. Looking both ways before crossing the little traveled road, he made his way over.
"Excuse me," he called, stepping up onto the side walk a several feet away from them.
"Yes?" the boy looked at him with green eyes showing that he was half foreigner himself.
"Um," great, now he needed to word this with out sounding like a complete weirdo. "I... was hoping you could..."
"Sorry, I can't break curses," this time it was the woman who spoke.
He looked at her with shock in his eyes, she shoved her hands into her pockets and looked at him with hard hazel eyes. She was daring him to do something, he wasn't sure what it was but she really did seem the tougher of the two of them.
"That's not- I mean-" He took a breath, "Look, I know it's rude but I over heard you and I need to figure something out. Lend me some of your time and I'll leave you alone."
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The rotting smell was gone from the air now, the wind taking it away from him. He had lost the child image of Kyou and now he was even more lost than he ever was and now it was dark. This was an area in the Sohma house that he had no idea even existed. It was calm and peaceful despite the fact that there were still no birds or bugs to make even the slightest of noise. It was a disturbing tranquility that nipped at his ears like hidden whispers. There was something... wrong.
He leaned against a wall, trying to figure out which way to go now when a scream ripped through the silence. It became muffled and he quickly moved in the direction it had came from. There was a small building, similar to the hut that he had first seen. There were sounds of struggle and gagged screams. The smell of burn flesh coming from a window.
Haru stole away under the window, slowly peeking up so that he could see into the darkness. A single candle washed the room in a burn amber glow. His breath caught in his throat as he watched several grown men hold Kyou down on his side, the yukata the youth was wearing was open and pulled up to reveal his hip and thigh where his underwear had been cruelly torn open to expose soft flesh. The ox was horrified at the sight of the leather roll in the cat's mouth as he struggled when Akito plunged a red hot knife into his skin cutting fine lines, tiny lines with agonizing position.
"I don't know why you struggle Kyou," Akito pulled the knife out of its seared mark to reheat it over the candle. "This will be the last time and then everything will be all better. No one else will get hurt because of you."
He continued along with his torture, the two toned boy outside too shocked to move. Haru was screaming in his head to move, to do something, he had martial arts training, he could just jump in there and take care of all of them and grab his love. But he couldn't move, couldn't...
The head of the Sohma clan dug his hand onto a pouch, handing the knife to someone beside him. The glittering ash he pulled out was as dark as ink. His face split into a very twisted smirk as he ground the fist full of ash into the wounds he had just inflicted. Kyou screamed again while biting down on the leather roll in his mouth, tears of pain gliding down his face.
Once he was done, Akito stood up, that grotesque smile on his face still there, people shuffling out of the small hut as he spoke, "You asked before what this was for, so I'll let you know now." He leaned over taking the leather roll from Kyou's mouth, the teeth imprints hideously deep. Dark eyes looked from the leather down to the one on the floor, "It's so you keep your curse to yourself. I can't allow it when someone else of the family gets hurt because they just are next to you, now can I? Because of you, Yuki was hurt, and because you were so insistent on running around in the 'outside' people who should never know are suspicious of our little secret." The sickly young man exited the room with a sing-song, "Have a nice life monster."
It was a while before Haru could find his voice, he reached through the bamboo bars of the window wishing he could touch the one that had yet to move.
"Kyou," he cursed to himself for the whisper, everyone had left, they were gone now. He called out louder this time, his voice cracking at first, "K-Kyou!"
The cat's shoulders tensed before his hands came up to cover his ears. Haru watched, his eyes stinging as the redhead curled up, "Shut up, I don't want to hear him anymore..."
"No, Kyou, look over here," he tried again.
"Leave me alone, you already took everything away," he was a tighter ball now, the freshly carved flesh coming into better light. Haru's anger snapping, black narrowed his eyes at the kanji of the word 'cursed' primitively tattooed to /his/ cat.
He grabbed the bamboo and pulled while crushing it, it splintered under his brute strength. He systematically tore the bars off of the window that caged his beloved. Climbing in through the window he stormed over to the one on the floor. Bending over he lifted the redhead up by the shoulders. Red eyes were wide as the ox just held him there, eyes drinking in his sight. A tan hand grabbed a hold of a pale wrist, his hand was shoved against Kyou's head, the feline's grip on his wrist was joined with another hand. The redhead ignored the pain of his hip and thigh as his leg shook from being stood on so soon after the trauma it took.
"Haru, Haru, you're here," he needed this, the contact, the feel, the touch, the sent, the sound, everything that was Hatsuharu.
"Kyou," black watched the redhead as tears rolled down from eyes clamped shut. The room smelled disgusting, there were odd scrawls on the walls and by the looks of Kyou's arms chest from the opened yukata, there were many infected gouges and slashes that were the source of the smell of rot.
His fingers slightly tightened in orange locks pulling Kyou closer, his lips met quivering ones, his tongue gaining easy access since the redhead was so greedy for contact. As he kissed the one he loved he picked Kyou up in bridal style. When he pulled away he kissed a tan forehead, arms wrapping around his shoulder and torso.
"Let's get you out of here," his grey eyes darkened. Not even the seven hells had a chance of pulling Kyou from him now.
To Be Continued...