TITLE: Somewhere, The Fates Are Laughing At Me
SUMMARY:For Rika Haruko, eating a blessed fruit which leads to being cursed like the one on the Sohma family and impersonate her twin brother are the least of her worries when she has to deal with love! Oh, and did I mention she has an active conscience?
DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own anime/manga/products of Fruits Basket, so don't attempt to sue me. Thank-you.
IMPORTANT: "..." speech )...( annoying A/N interruptions
Make them 16 (Hatsuharu and Momiji) or 17 (Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, etc.), the rest, I don't remember -.-
-.-
RECAP:
The thought of a whole family, in future and present time, happy that their curse was gone forever flashed in her mind; everyone, happy because of her…
"I…I'll do it. I'll be the sacrifice."
Chapter 19: Sacrifices, Cures, Letters, and Trains !
Shigure's House
Never in her life, did she think she would experience such panic when it dealt with her most precious people.
Oh sure, the expected bruise here and there she considered normal (and besides when Kyo and Yuki fight nowadays, she'd be worried if either of them weren't sporting a bruise on their shoulder of something). But, never, never ever did she expect them-Shigure, Kagura and even the little ones!-to be rolling on the floor in pain!
Hmm…was it because of her-her cooking!
'Oh no!' Tohru thought with saddened guilt and panic. It must have been all her fault they were screaming in pain and tears rolling down their faces! Becoming more frantic, Yuki stifled a groan of pain and tried to reassure her.
"To-Tohru-san, don't worry, please" he soothed, resting a shaky hand on her head with a small smile. He ignored the increased howling-almost inhuman!-that came from Kyo and continued one "It's not your fault-really it-it isn't." Then, he held his head and Tohru knew that he was trying to contain the screams he wanted to voice out. She was close to tears herself and, not knowing what to do, she laid his head on her lap and whispered comforting nonsense to her prince.
Cracking an eye open, Shigure couldn't help but want to crack a smile (no matter how much it would hurt right now) at the Yuki-Tohru scene before him. Glancing up, he was grateful Riku-kun was trying to comfort the tiger and ram while the cat and boar held onto each other like a lifeline. Really, he should remember to write a scene like this in his next novel…
Now was not the time to be thinking of this, especially when his zodiac spirit was calling to him!
With Hatori
"W-w-what…?" the doctor managed to grunt out through his pain. He remembered checking on Momiji, who had a slight headache, while Ayame bothered him, and now visiting Ritsu screaming apologies in the background, trying not to do suicide in his office ('IT'LL BE MY FAULT IF YOU NEED TO CLEAN IT UP! I'M SORRY, SORRY, AND SORRY!")
Yep, a normal night for Sohma Hatori…
That is, until he was assaulted with the most unbearable pain. Falling to his knees, he was dimly aware that the others followed suit, all yelling in pain, with Ritsu being the loudest of them all.
Trying to do anything, he looked up and gasped.
There was a ghostly, rippling image of his zodiac animal in front of him.
Well, I guess this is good-bye. Faintly, Hatori wondered where the monotone voice came-from his head, maybe? Before he could dwell on the thought, another wave of nausea assaulted him again as he grimaced and clamped his hands on the sides of his head-it hurt!
With Kureno
By the dim light that was cast from the nearby lamp, the once-been cursed Sohma clutched in his hand a slip of paper with numbers arranged neatly by Rika's hand. He sighed and glanced at the clock.
He shook his head as he saw it was but ten minutes 'till midnight and he dared not to call Uotani so late-no matter how much in his head the whispered word 'coward' was repeated.
Reaching to close the light, his hand suddenly jerked to cradle his head as a soft throbbing irate him. Looking up in confusion, he wondered why a headache came all of a sudden.
He gasped when he heard an empty echo sound in his ears as the throbbing slowly faded, and he collapsed back onto the bed; looking at the direction of trees being whipped by a howling wind, he wondered where Rika and Haru were.
God's Place…Or Something
It didn't hurt at all. In fact, she felt nothing as she heard the swish of the god's blade descend on her.
She was stunned, the regular clichés applied, the works.
Her mouth open slack? Yep.
Wide eyes in disbelief? Check.
Stunned to the ground on her knees with a paralyzed body? Definitely.
Trying to blink a bit to make sure her eyes weren't so wide permanently, and placed a hesitant hand to her stomach. After a few moments of silence, she lifted her hand to her face slowly, wondering, hoping…
Blood.
There was no blood.
Bewildered, she cast her vision around her and was surprised of what she saw.
Kneeing in front of the blade, with its sickly like shine bouncing into his-or was it a 'her'?-face slumped lifelessly was someone she had never seen before, though it was obvious from his (or her, Rika wasn't too sure) beautiful face that this person belonged to the Sohma Family.
In front of the stranger was a breathless Haru that just looked at her with an unreadable expression. The intensity of those eyes made her freeze more than she thought possible, everything else seemed to sink back into the background and muffled as she felt a growing nervous feeling in her stomach.
What exactly happened?
-
Like in his childhood, and teenage years, Hatsuharu was never fond of seeing Akito.
As Haru heard those words of 'being a sacrifice' fall from Rika's lips, he scowled fiercely at the door, hoping the intensity of it would pass the door and shoot right through Rika, making her remember her promise.
So, it would be reasonable that when a hysterical Akito somehow burst into the room, screaming about thieves and such, it was not surprising that Haru rounded onto him, glowering.
Not sparing the irked cow a glance, Akito shot to the door, threw Haru to the side and flung the door open and dashed out. Still scowling, he wondered how the head of the Sohma residence had the strength to knock him over and run into the hallway-
Wait, the hallway?
"Rika…" he breathed out with widened eyes. Rika was in the hallway! Thinking back to Rin (even if his heart clenched at the memory) lying in her hospital bed thanks to him (1), suddenly, in his mind's eye, Rin's long , flowing black hair was replaced with a sandy hue, and the length shrunk.
Without a thought he headed for Akito's back; he ignored the hallway, not bothering to notice the lush designs, or the ethereal-like paintings, or surreal feel in the corridor. For once, his full attention was on one thing-Akito.
In front of him-mostly blocked from his view-was Rika, eyes scrunched, with a god holding the sword from the shrine, trying to rush through some sort of chanting before he was to lunge it to her stomach. He growled feral at that, and Akito seemed to have stopped, his body seemed to be like ice, still and brittle. Haru watched with fascination; never had he seen his head, Akito act so…so dead stiff; so…shocked.
It broke the horrid, intimidating shadow that was wrapped around his 'god' for so long. He was confused, and a bit shocked. He never knew that he portray that-that sickly man to be stronger…to be a god.
But for him to stand next to an actual god, his eyes seemed to tear at the comparison. He felt…filthy for thinking Akito to be a god…it hurt. His head hurt.
Why did his head hurt?
There was a strangled noise and his vision sharpened past through his mental thoughts and saw, seemingly in slow motion, as if they were all under an opposing current at sea, Akito-
-Akito was lodging at Rika.
The unearthly voice that was chanting ceased, and a swooshing sound made from a fast moving sword broke through the air.
A jolt went through him, and on impulse, he dove right for the man, and knocked Akito in front of the girl.
IT was at that moment that he thanked the heavens the martial art skills that were driven into his mind, as he twisted and the sound of metal plunging into soft, vulnerable flesh invaded his ears like a swarm of gnats. He grimaced, but was grateful that none of his blood scattered onto neither of the two mortals.
Slowly getting up, his blackish eyes never met Rika's face; first scrunched up in apprehension, than twisting into confusion until her sandy orbs squinted open to survey the scene before her.
Their eyes met and he never felt such annoyance at the storm of thoughts whirling in his head.
She would have died…become a soulless body.
He blinked a bit, and the tension-his torrent of thoughts and her confused fear-lessened to something more bearable, even if the taste of tension was still lingering in the air.
"WHO is this mortal!" spinning around, the cow container was met with an enraged Yamu, who was glaring disdainfully at the slumped Akito, still connected to his sword.
There was a murmur of sound, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl rise, shakily, from her kneeling position.
"Y-your sacrifice" she repeated, loudly; a bit more firmly.
Yamu seemed to prepare for more questions, but Hatsuharu went on to continue "He's the head of the Sohma Family, Akito…"
"The 'god' of the curse; the…the closest descendant to the man who stole your sword" Rika finished off with a firmer voice. Haru was relaxed at that. A firm Rika was normal. So was being an enraged, butt whooping person, but he preferred her firm and unswayable rather than rage-in filled Rika.
Looking to the immortal, he was surprised to see Buddha, consoling a boiling Yamu. Casting them a spare glance, the chubby god smiled a bit and snapped his fingers. With an evaporating sensation, they shimmered out of the hallway.
At Sohma Residence
He groaned-it felt like thousands of Rika's pummeling his skull with hammers. Did he get drunk last night? If so, he never thought hangovers would ever get this bad.
His eyes still closed, he scrunched his face in irritation as the back of his eyelids had a red hue-there was light shining in his face, and all he wanted to do was stay in the dark oblivion called sleep…
He felt like he was floating, drifting right above the ground, and for once his head felt…empty, like there was more available space than normal…as if something disappeared.
Something disappeared-something?
His eyes snapped open in alarm as he didn't feel the presence of his cursed spirits; where were his cows?
What had happened?
He worked his brain and was rewarded by flashes of yesterday night; Yuki punching him…Rika being a girl…Akito, with a sword in him…terrible pain, and then…
…Nothing.
Hesitantly, he called out for the spirits, but received no answer. What was wrong?
He heard a cry from somewhere outside, and the door to his room banged open to see a crying Momiji and shocked Tohru. Behind them was the rest of the cursed Sohmas, all wearing expressions of disbelief.
Without a word, a flushing Tohru bounded to him and slowly put his arms around him. He stilled, wondering why she would be hugging him of all people. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the puff of smoke to invade the space around them…
Only to feel no change; nothing. More shocked than before, he whirled his head to the crying Momiji, wondering what in the world was going on.
"W-what's…wait; where's Rika?" he finally said, noticing that she wasn't present. At that, the room seemed to freeze up. For a moment, Momiji looked like he was going to bolt, but instead, he approached the Haru cautiously. Tearstains still visible, he handed him a paper. Looking down, he read what seemed to be a note, written in scrawled letters.
Sohmas and Tohru,
Thank you, all of you, for housing me. The time with you guys were great; thank you all. I'm so sorry for being such an intruder, please forgive me also for leaving so quickly, without saying good-bye.
And don't worry about me, my brother and I will be alright! And if you're wondering about the curse, go ask Haru!
I don't have much more to say; Momiji, Kagura, Ayame, and Kisa, please don't cry (Hiro, you brat, comfort her!) Sohma-san and Kureno-san, thank-you for the opportunities; Shigure, you penny-pinching pervert, the rent money is on the kitchen table; Yuki don't forget to treat Tohru correctly! Kyo, don't break any more walls- Shigure will be poor by the time you move out!
Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye!
-Rika
He looked up, and saw that the room was empty save for himself and Momiji; the others gone, still shocked that the age-old curse finally removed.
"I'm sorry" was all he could muster out. Rika gone; the curse, gone. Two things, so regular to them all, disappeared.
Hatsuharu felt lonelier, more alone, than before.
"S-she…" Momiji tried to say in a shaky voice, but failed. Instead, he gave him another note, in the same handwriting from before. Not staying longer, Momiji shuffled out, most likely to be alone, thinking about his partner in love crime.
'Another note…all for me' he mused bitterly, and unfolded it slowly. He surpassed a puff of laughter wanting to escape. So like Rika…too much like her.
Reaching to his tableside, he retrieved a pen, flipped to the back of the note and scribbled his answer. That done, he folded it to an airplane, wished it luck and tossed it out of his window, watching for a moment as the paper plane ride the breeze before looping up and over the wall.
Flopping back onto the bed, he curled in a ball and burrowed deep into his covers.
'Maybe,' he reflected with a wisp of hope, 'maybe when I wake up, I'll be in front of that shrine, and Rika right next to me. Maybe…this is right now a dream…Please let this be a dream.'
With Shigure And Hatori
"So, you knew about the other and never told me? I'm hurt, really hurt, Ha'ri!" The other man sitting by the table inhaled a bit of the cigarette he was smoking and retorted back in a monotone manner.
"And you were housing someone outside the family, without notifying the late Akito."
"Ah, but she's not dead yet! She might wake-up, for all we know…"
"Don't get your hopes up, Shigure, even if you did love her (2); if Haru's story was right, Akito would just be a living vegetable for the rest of her life." Hatori squished the finished cigarette and eyed his cousin, who, even though happy that the curse was gone, he (along with the rest of the cursed twelve) did lose the god. And the doctor had a suspicion that Shigure even possibly loved their young master for quite awhile.
Finally, the author mused aloud, "Do you think Kureno will be suitable for being the new head?"
"Well, he does understand how the family works since he was the closest to her" ignoring the slight frown on his cousin, Hatori continued, "besides, he'll most likely be better a head than Akito ever was; maybe the children of the main house will laugh again."
"Eh? And how do you know for sure?" He teased back. Seeing the doctor look out the window, Shigure's eyesight followed and chuckled a bit as he saw said new head walking shyly, hand-in-hand with Tohru's friend, Uotani.
"Hmm…wait a few more years, and no one will press charges" Shigure remarked lightly with a leering grin.
Hatori just rolled his eyes and reached for another cigarette.
Bus
In the back of the bus, rode two people, seemingly two adolescent twins (just the hair color different), but one looked more feminine. On closer inspection, the people who cared to look that yes, they were indeed twins, but not both males, one was a sister, the other, brother.
Calmly, the brother of the twins reached for his sister's tense hand and squeezed reassuringly. Looking at her, he caught her eye and smiled a bit.
"Are you sure you want to leave like that, Nee-chan?" Hesitantly, she nodded in response.
"Even if you have to leave that Hatsuharu guy who wanted to marry you?" he questioned again, wanting to make sure that Rika wasn't sad that she was leaving all her new friends behind.
"I-he-he was just sprouting things from his mouth; it'd be better if I wasn't there to bring havoc into their lives."
"I don't know; with that silver haired guy and that orange haired guy…with you remaining there, I don't think anyone would mind." He said with a quirk of his lip as they exited the bus and walked along each other.
Adjusting her duffel bag, she grinned in return, missing her brother's presence, and savored that long missed smile of his before answering.
"Maybe, but I don't know what to feel, after all, the curse is gone and I can settle down, yes; but, while traveling around for the cure, I got to use to moving-it's amazing that I stayed there for so long! Besides…what Haru purposed was just a spur of the moment and he'd probably forget the next day-and, and I'd remember, and that be just awkward between us and all! Than the fact that I stayed so long at Shigure's house-"
"If you wanted a new place to settle down to breathe a bit, you could have just said that!" Riku said with a laugh. "But, we're not traveling all over Japan! And I hope you write to them or something; I bet they'd miss you a lot, you know."
She squeezed his hand with a slight smile.
"I know."
He laughed a bit before speeding his stride to catch the train. "Thank lets go!"
Train Station
Small child hands picked up a paper airplane with curiosity, wondering where it came from, how far away it was from the owner. Glancing over to his older sister, the little boy unfolded the thing to find words on the back and front of the little thing.
He was about to read it when his older sister, Hanajima, called him to come on, since she was finished looking at some twins boarding some train they weren't suppose to go on.
"Come, our train is here." Glancing blankly at his sister, all wearing black, Megumi laid the paper back onto the floor and walked towards his sister.
"Okay, Hana-nee-chan."
They went, leaving a piece of paper fluttering on the ground, with one side covered in curved words while the other side held handwriting by a messy guy.
Hatsuharu,
Don't be a moron; I would never marry a guy who is a moron like you! Especially if you forget to get me a promise ring for marriage and than finally a wedding ring! Get a brain, instead!
The wind picked up, seemingly amused with playing with the note, flipped it over.
Rika,
Don't worry, I'll go get you the rings-and you'll be wearing them willingly, too.
I promise.
-.-
TCB!
(1) Technically, Haru doesn't know that Akito's a girl…
(2) Yes…bit of a spoiler…I think they hinted that Shigure was in love with Akito, and there was a bit of a Kureno-Akito-Shigure thing going on (since in one scene, you see Kureno being in that type of relationship with her, since he felt guilty that he was the only one rid of the curse…).
Hitaru: ONE MORE CHAPTER! And squeee! the last scene was on a spur; My most FAVORITE part of this chapter! (This was annoying to write, since I felt that it sounded like an ending...when it's NOT!)
Mini-Waffle: Hopefully in the next week!
Hitaru: Hey! That hurt…
Mini-Waffle: Well, if you just drilled through that writer's block…besides, don't you feel sorry for those that were waiting forever!
Hitaru: Yes, I'M SORRY! I won't make excuses like tests and stuff-but some things changed, and I had to see if how the last chapter would work out and all…all in all, yes, I was also lazy. Please forgive me a bit! And I won't name the number of reviews, since the next one is actually the last chapter! I feel sad to finish like this…it feels like a short time…or maybe was it a long time? ;
...And they all walked away