Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket of the song Echo by Jason Walker
But where was the nightingale to be found? The nobleman went up stairs and down, through halls and passages; yet none of those whom he met had heard of the bird. So he returned to the emperor, and said that it must be a fable, invented by those who had written the book. "Your imperial majesty," said he, "cannot believe everything contained in books; sometimes they are only fiction."
"But the book in which I have read this account," said the emperor, "was sent to me by the great and mighty emperor of Japan, and therefore it cannot contain a falsehood. I will hear the nightingale, she must be here this evening; she has my highest favor; and if she does not come, the whole of the court shall be punished."
"Tsing-pe!" cried the lord-in-waiting, and again he ran up and down stairs, through all the halls and corridors; and half the court ran with him, for they did not like the idea of being punished. There was a great inquiry about this wonderful nightingale, whom all the world knew, but who was unknown to the court.
Aikame jogged around the perimeter of the Sohma estate until she found what she was looking for. An old cherry tree had grown up along the inner wall, but its branches hung over, providing the perfect hand hold if one were able to reach them. Taking a couple steps back, she ran towards the wall, using her momentum to propel herself up as her hands stretched towards the rough bark.
She felt her heart stop as, for a moment she feared she would fall, but her leap proved true. She seized ahold of the branch, and pulled herself up until she had reached the top of the wall.
She sat there for a moment, enjoying the tranquility of the gardens. It was strange, she thought, how a household containing so much turmoil could appear so peaceful.
Soon enough, she decided that it was time to get down. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't want to be caught anywhere near the walls, let alone sitting on them. She knew Akito would be upset if word got back to him, and, while she didn't fear for her own safety, worried that he might take his anger out on someone else.
With her mind made up, she moved forward until she felt her weight tip her over the ledge and into the estate. She landed on the balls of her feet, smiling slightly. She had always enjoyed the sensation of falling, for a few brief seconds; it felt as if she were…flying.
But that would be preposterous; she had never flown a day in her life. As it was, she had only ever transformed into her animal form once. The one and only time her father had ever held her after she was born.
A short bark of laughter made its way past her lips. It was so ironic. She was the nightingale and didn't even know how to fly. Hell, Kureno was the rooster and he could fly. She sighed. But then again, he wasn't bound as tightly as she was.
She stood, brushing the dirt from her jeans as she moved towards the house.
She had just passed one of the many alcoves in the garden when she heard someone clear their throat, obviously trying to get her attention. She froze. She would have known who it was even if it weren't for the cloying sweetness of cigarette smoke filling the air.
"Well look who finally came back," the person said before taking an especially long drag of their smoke.
"I don't know what you're talking about Hatori, I never left."
Her back was still turned towards him so she couldn't see his face but she could practically feel the scowl that marred his features. Of course, this also meant she wasn't able to see the annoyance that flashed through his eyes as he dropped his cigarette butt and crushed it under his heal.
"You know I can tell when you're lying. When was the last time that you ever got away with something you knew you weren't supposed to be doing?"
"…"
"Exactly. Now, I'm only going to ask this once; what were you doing outside the estate?"
"…"
"Well?"
Aikame's eyes burned with unshed tears. Without warning, she turned towards Hatori, taking a few strides forward before wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face in his shirt. His eyes widened momentarily, caught off-guard by the sudden embrace, but after a few seconds he relaxed into the hold and placed a comforting hand on the girl's head.
"What happened?"
Pulling back, Aikame looked into his eye that remained un-obscured by his hair. She took a ragged breath, refusing to cry as she related the events of the past few days. After she was done, she held her breath, waiting for his response.
"Hatori?.. I want to go back…out, I mean. Staying in here is driving me crazy, and, sometimes, I feel like the walls are closing in and I'm suffocating." She clenched her eyes shut, and dropping her head. "Hatori, please…I don't think I can handle having to remain cooped up for very much longer." She glanced back at him, watching as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"It sounds as if you might have a mild case of claustrophobia. " He let out an exasperated sigh. "Come on," he said, moving past Aikame and back towards the main house, "we need to talk to Akito and figure out someway for you to be able to leave the compound."
"Thank you Ha'ri!" Aikame exclaimed, using her childhood nickname for the dragon. She followed him back to the house with a little extra spring in her step as she hoped against hope for a favorable answer.
*The song that I thought would work really well with this section was Echo by Jason Walker, It reflects Aikame's feelings, even if she tries to keep them locked up.
A/N: Wow, ok... so this took way longer for me to update than I thought it would. I am truly sorry, dear readers, if you find this erratic updating schedule disconcerting, but I can only write when inspiration strikes me. :( However, I will be completing this. I've set my mind to it... although we still have quite a-ways to go. But worry not dear reader, most of my chapters will be relatively short, allowing the story to progress more swiftly.
Once again: Thank you to all of my totally amazing followers. It warms my heart whenever I see someone likes my work :)
