Key to a Forgotten Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or any of its characters or plot. All I own is the plot of the story you are reading now.

Chapter 7: Reminiscence

As the Sohma Estate faded away into the distance, Tohru continued to walk forward along the sidewalk. She seemed to wind almost interminably though the streets of Tokyo, although her walk home probably took far less than it felt. Through her entire journey, Tohru was sure to keep her focus solely on the road before her, never even taking a single glimpse behind. She felt more exhausted than she had been for a long time, but her feet seemed to be taking themselves further towards her home on their own accord, free of her command. The only thing that rested for sure in the girl's heart was that she needed to get away from there as fast as she could. Things such as the fact that she was more than a bit tired did not get in the way of that.

The sun gently fell below the horizon, leaving way for darkness to engulf the streets of Tokyo. The lights slowly went on, and formed an array of little shining orbs of light, masquerading the streets with a certain beauty that only the night could muster. A myriad of cars and buses sped past with a soft whoosh every time they passed by. Young people mingled out in the streets, chatting animatedly about the newest films or trends, as they walked past. The heart of the city seemed to be more alive than she had ever seen it before. Granted, she had only lived in this part of the city for about a week thus far, but she had never imagined a Tokyo like this previously in her life. The sight seemed to both intimidate and charm her into believing anything was possible, at the same time.

Tohru rounded the corner, into a small, more familiar street winding its way shyly through a world of glamour and splendor, as a shabby little area that had anything but those qualities marked through its shadowy features. Unlike the celebrated main streets, this street lay deserted, with only she walking along its path. However, as she approached the door of an old, slightly ramshackle apartment building in great need of renovation, her mouth twisted in a faint smile. This was the only home she needed and could not feel any happier, even if she could live in a home as beautiful as those she saw on the Sohma property that she had visited just earlier that day.

As she pressed onwards through the building and up the creaking stairway towards her apartment, Tohru's expression darkened slightly. It seemed the more questions continued to be answered the more questions continued to come up. So many remarkable, yet puzzling, things had occurred that afternoon. What was that mystery that lay behind the name "Sohma", and what did Satsuki mean when she said relationships were difficult for some of her family? What about the fact that Momiji seemed to already know her name before she even told him, and the shocked expressions on Hiro and Kisa's faces when they saw her?

And then there was that small, under-kept building and that orange-haired boy filled with sadness and disdain…

Tohru quivered nervously at the thought. Something was terribly wrong with this situation, and somehow, she felt almost as though the root of the matter lay solely in her hands, but how on earth did she come to have anything to do with it?

Finally, she reached a door marked with a large, silver number 15 at the end of the hallway. Holding out her key in front of her, Tohru quickly inserted it into the keyhole and with a soft click the lock twisted loose. Without hesitation, she grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, relieved to finally have made it home after what seemed a lot longer than the few hours she had actually spent out in the Sohma grounds.

As she entered the room and sat herself down on a modest chair, Tohru gazed around and took in the simple view that was the interior of her apartment. Not having a terribly large sum of money to spend, the young woman had had no desire to clutter her walls with any adornments or ornate, decorative objects, but left the area plain and lacking of any decoration beyond a few pieces of simple furniture and some boxes still left unopened after the move. The apartment was cramped, but absolutely spotless as Tohru had always liked keeping a clean, tidy living space from as far back as she could remember. It was not the best of places, but at least, it was affordable, comfortable, and, best of all, hers. After all, she had finally achieved her dream in life of being able to live and support herself on her own, and she could not have been any more content.

Glancing across the room, the onigiri noticed many boxes still needed to be unpacked. Many objects were still crammed inside the boxes, and, as she had no time to unpack when she first moved in a week previously, many of these she greatly needed. Deciding that it was best to take advantage of her free time while she had it, Tohru decided to continue the unpacking. Otherwise she would likely not have the time for a long while, as she was far too busy during the school week to do anything more than grade papers.

Promptly, she rose from her seat and walked across the navy blue carpet towards the other corner of the room where she had placed all of the boxes needing unpacking. Carefully, she took the sharp edge of a cutting knife (she couldn't afford any other more appropriate tools) and slid it through a film of tape sealing one of the boxes tight. Once this was finished, she pried the box wide open, revealing the contents inside.

She recognized this box as the very last she had packed last Sunday night before her move. Within it lay many memorable objects, as well as several that were not so. There were so many strange trinkets and objects inside, some which made her wonder how she came to be such a packrat without realizing it and others which she looked upon with fondness in her eyes. With much care, she began to withdraw the items from within the box and lay them out on a soft mat on the floor, each item she unpacked instigating a different set of emotions within her mind.

When she finally reached the very bottom of the box, Tohru stumbled upon something very curious. She picked it up from within. A notebook, of some sort? She remembered seeing an object like this only a week before when she had been finishing up preparations for the move. Its cover was a deep greenish shade, with a dark gold, dashed border and the words "Memory Book" inscribed across in slightly faded, golden lettering. It must have been a scrapbook or journal of some kind, though she had no recollection of ever keeping one.

Letting her curiosity get the better of her, Tohru carefully opened the book on its spine. Turning to the very first page, she gazed at a familiar sight – the face of her deceased mother was smiling back at her. Her heart filled with warmth at this delightful sight. Quickly she turned the page, but this time, there was writing on it in a very familiar style. Could it be? No, it couldn't be—hers? She squinted to try to make out the small characters floating across the page:

8th of May, 1998

Good day to you. My name is Tohru Honda. I recently turned sixteen years old and currently attending Kaibara High as a first year student. Mom gave this journal to me in hopes that I'd be able to record my experiences, so someday I'll be able to look back and say, "Well, I'm certainly never going to try that again," or, "Oh, I remember that! That was such a fun time." She always used to tell me, "Every memory is worth remembering." In fact, she is the whole entire reason why I am writing now. You see, earlier this week, I received very distressing news from my teacher. My mother, well, she had a bit of an accident, and she… died. At first, I didn't want to believe it. I kept telling myself that it was going to be all right. Everything was going to be okay, like she always told me… like she promised it always would be. Yet, it really isn't. If it was then I wouldn't be sitting here dressed all in black mourning her death in a funeral for her honor.

I'm scared; I don't know what to think. Left and right I hear everybody speaking all about me. Relatives bickering over custody, saying how sad I must be and heartbroken… That, of course, I am. Yet, I feel like the longer I go without her, the more distant I start to become from my mother. It's like some sort of outside force is pulling me away unwillingly from her, but I don't want to lose her! Really, I don't. I want to hold her close to my heart forever… Never changing… I just want to hold on as tightly as I can…

Wait, Grandfather is coming near. He says he has something to speak to me about…

Reading these words, Tohru's heart raced heavily. Reliving that time in her life nearly a decade ago sprung a shiver down her spine. She could remember that feeling vividly, one of her only memories of her time in high school: not knowing where she was going to go next, feeling her mother fade away from her heart, and desperately wishing to hold on. Now, reading this after all these years, it still gave her a very insecure feeling inside her heart.

Taking a deep breath, Tohru continued to work her way through the book. However, the further she went, the more unfamiliar the entries became. Did all this really happen to me? she thought in confusion. Who are these people, and why can't I remember them? Eventually, she felt too bewildered to bother reading. Frequently, she would also come across a photograph to go along with an entry. Within these photographs, along with the occasional picture of her friends Uo and Hana, she saw herself with many strange people with a variety of hair and eye colors that were anything but conventional. Yet, the unfamiliar figures did not bring her the largest shock of all. No, in actuality, it was the fact that Tohru had recognized a few of these strangers that frightened her the most.

She flipped several pages until she found what appeared to be a small group photograph of her and a few of the younger ones. The vibrant rays of summer radiated from its surface, giving a cheering, relaxed feeling. Most astonishingly, though, were the people in the photograph. As Tohru pored through its surface searching for a familiar face, she felt her heart skip a beat. Looking back at her was a small, forlorn-looking girl with golden eyes holding hands with a young boy with dark chocolate-brown eyes and light, sandy-brown hair. Close by stood another boy (perhaps a little bit older than the other two) with bright golden locks dangling beneath a colorful hat and large brown eyes, beaming cheerfully as if he had never been more happy in his life, and beside him, a plain young girl with long brown hair and wide brown eyes looking up at her. Tohru was seeing her sixteen-year-old self.

What are Momiji-san, Kisa-san, and Hiro-san doing here? How could I have met them before without even remembering? she wondered in bewilderment as she glanced at the photograph glassy-eyed. Perhaps this could explain that odd feeling she experienced whenever she heard the name "Sohma"? She must have had some sort of connection with them in the past after all, but… how?

Yet, the huge surprise was not over yet, for as she flipped towards the next photograph in the notebook, Tohru might have felt her heart stop for a moment.

It was he. That boy with the orange hair that had appeared before her eyes for one fleeting moment while she came past the one ramshackle building in the Sohma compound… he was really there, standing right next to her along with another boy with silver hair.

Her hands trembled heavily over the book's worn pages. They all seemed so happy in the picture, so what was this strange feeling she felt when she looked into those piercing red eyes of his, this mixture of fear and emptiness? Why should she feel this way when looking in the face of a complete and total stranger?

But, evidently from what she had seen here, he must not have been a stranger to her at all… No, it felt more like she was looking into the face of a forgotten lover from another lifetime…

Who was he…?

For a moment Tohru felt like closing the notebook and forgetting about the whole ordeal, about everything she had seen and heard that day, but the curiosity inside of her kept Tohru thirsting for some sort of explanation. She continued onwards silently, although now her gaze was intent, searching frantically for something that would ring a bell in her mind, some familiar sign that would bring everything back and answer all of her questions.

Yet, all she saw were pictures. Pictures and words, none with any visible meaning in her eyes.

As she finally flipped to the last page in the notebook, she noticed at first that it was bare. Maybe she had not managed to complete the journal before whenever it was that she stopped writing in it? But then she noticed it…

That word, scrawled in a hasty manner right at the center of the page, she read in a faint whisper, squinting under the dim light…

"Cursed."

Suddenly, she felt it again, that strange, terrible feeling that plagued her as she stood inside the Sohma living complex and felt the gaze of the pitiful red eyes of a nameless orange haired boy.

That was what Satsuki had been referring to about Hiro and Kisa. Tohru recalled those words. "It was almost inevitable… that their friendship would evolve into something more than that… but…"

They were cursed.

Suddenly, to Tohru's mixed feelings of horror and apprehension, the name Sohma seemed to have become just a tiny bit more familiar.

Neko's Rambling Corner Part 8: I know I've been so bad taking all of this time to finally release this chapter. Seven months, I think. Oh my gosh… I feel so guilty! -starts apologizing profusely like Ritsu- Anyway, I'm back now for good, so unless anything major happens, I'll be updating a lot more frequently. I'd better, too, because after this cliffhanger, you're going to hate me if I don't.

Anyway, before I have a bunch of questions along the lines of, "OH MY GOSH! Does this mean she's just regained her memories?" Which I know I'm going to get a million of before I release next chapter (if anybody actually bothers reading my fanfics anymore), I'll say one thing: what just happened is not as simple to understand as you think.

As to whether her memories are truly back or not, I'll let you keep guessing until next chapter, because I'm just evil like that. No really, I am. Muahahahahaha.

This chapter in general was a particular challenge, I think, because what I decided to do in this chapter basically dictated a route that I would be forced to follow for the rest of the story. That's why it took so long, because I had to be so careful with how I handled it. I mean, the original plan for this chapter was nothing like how it actually turned out.

And the thing about the journal, it's the same as always, just I decided to make it into a picture journal rather than a photograph album (oh well, it was never explicitly said, you know, as to what it really was). Oh, and the thing about the single word ("cursed") on the last page WILL have significance later on, I promise you.

See you next time, minna-san!