Pairing:This chapter contains slight Haru/Yuki
Rating: M
Warnings:There is also slight OOC, language, extreme violence, torture, and blood
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, Natsuki Takaya does.
Haru's eyes fell on Yuki, watching as he started to awaken from his long trauma induced slumber. He closed his eyes as he hoped that he would never have to go through this pain in his life, hoping that this was the worst of it. They were going to come for him. He prayed, he hoped that they would, they couldn't leave him here to die. It wasn't like them to let one of their own suffer, this was not the end.
Yuki's eyes opened as he looked up at the ox. "H-Haru? What are you doing here? Where are we?"
"We've been captured by a group of lunatics; I don't know what they want to do to us. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here," Haru promised as he looked at Yuki. "We'll get home no matter what."
Yuki's breathing sped up; the harsh sounds of asthma going through the air, stopping Haru in a moment that he knew he would never get out of. He never thought that his cousin would be able to go through this much pain; he never thought that he was going to have to watch as they died like this. He couldn't sneak out with Yuki, it was too risky, his breathing would get them caught. They were stranded.
The door opened as Haru's heart broke, he was stuck here, there was no escape now, they were doomed. The ones that had been called Hikari, Akane, Tsubasa, and Katsu walked closer to them, weapons in hand. Haru closed his eyes tightly as he realized what was about to happen to him and his cousin. The leader of the group looked at Yuki, watching as the rat was coughing violently; a glimpse of sympathy was in his eyes.
"Poor thing," he whispered. "Don't worry, you'll be out of pain soon enough, this is all going to be over soon," he looked up at Haru, a smile on his face. "Which one of you wants to go first?"
As Katsu looked at Yuki again, Haru cried out. "Stop! Don't touch him! If you want blood, take my blood. He's been through enough…"
Haru knew what they were going to do, they were going to torture them, make them wish they were dead, and then they were going to kill them. That wasn't the life that he had hoped for when he looked at him, he wanted Yuki to love, he was going to be saved when everyone came to look for them. This was the way that it had to be. Haru would have to die so that Yuki could live.
"Foolish cow…" Akane breathed as he bent down to grasp Haru's arm, pulling him painfully off of the ground. He felt as if his arm was going to leave his shoulder as the redhead pulled him so harshly that he instantly found his way to his feet.
Haru, still holding Yuki's hand fought not to let go as Akane pulled him harder away. "Don't worry, Yuki, everything is going to be alright. You're going to get out of here! Don't be scared."
He then felt his hand leave Yuki's as he was pulled to the door. Yuki stopped coughing as he watched his cousin being pulled away, finally finding his voice that was lost during the shock.
"Haru!" Yuki yelled. "Haru!"
Katsu then scoffed at the display as he turned to look at Hikari. "Hikari-san, take the rat to another room, but don't kill him."
"Don't kill him?" Hikari asked. "How the fuck am I going to have fun if I'm not supposed to kill him?"
"Make him wish he were dead," Katsu answered as he looked at the blond. "But spare his life," he turned his attention to the young man as he walked out the door. "Tsubasa-kun…"
"Yes, sir!" Tsubasa called out as he followed Katsu.
Hikari scoffed as she lifted the rat off of the ground and left the room. The whole way, Yuki knew that all hope was lost. They were both going to die here. As he felt the woman pull at him harder, he could feel the life start to seep out of him. He closed his eyes tightly as he heard the words of disgust that were coming out of Hikari's mouth.
"If you were my target, you would have been dead in the streets!" she never loosed his grip on him as she kept walking down the hall, the clicking of her healed shoes matching the racing pace of his pulse. "But we have to do what Katsu-chan says or else I'll have to listen to him bitch for the rest of my life. Pathetic!"
She stopped in the hallway as she pushed Yuki in to a wall, ignoring the outcry of pain as the force stole his breath away from him. As her cold green eyes froze him in place as it shot fire down his spine, everyone of his nerves flaring up as breath caught in his throat. He closed his eyes and thought of Haru, he was going to come save him, they were going to be alright.
"Look at you," she hissed. "You're nothing more than insolent vermin. I could crush the life out of you!" disgust rolled across her beautiful face, making her perfect features look grotesque. "What use does anyone have for a rat anyway? I bet now you're regretting riding on that ox's back, regretting leaving the cat out of this? Maybe it would have been your cousin in your place right now, instead of you," her smile made Yuki's heart stop beating, the glitter of her teeth torturing his broken soul. "Here's the price you pay!"
She pulled him by his shirt and with more strength than Yuki thought a woman would ever have; she threw him into a room, his body hitting the floor with a humungous thud. There he lay shaking on the floor as he heard her heels again, tears welling up in his eyes as he took in the noise. He closed his eyes tightly as her fingers possessed him once more, pulling him off of the floor.
"Get up!" she yelled as she shoved him into a chair.
He opened his eyes to see a television in front of him, his nerves starting to calm down as he could finally breathe again. He looked at Hikari with a look of confusion, his glance asking her a question which she quickly answered.
"I can't kill you. But I can occupy you," she pointed to the television screen with a remote. "I wonder if anything good is on."
As television turned on, his heart stopped, he saw a room full of chains and weapons of torture, he couldn't breath again. He was so fixated on the screen; he didn't even notice that she was strapping him into the chair, his arm and legs not able to move from his bindings.
"The torture channel!" she smiled with glee. "My favorite! How about you?"
"What are you playing at?" Yuki asked as he looked into her eyes. "What the fuck are you playing at?"
She shook her head. "I wonder who the star is. Oh I know… it's…" she moved to whisper in Yuki's ear. "Hatsuharu…"
Yuki froze as she said those words, his hands working against his will to break himself out of the chair. He winced and whined as he tried and tried, his brain turning off as he only thought of his cousin. He looked at Hikari with a look of spite upon his face, his body trembling against the ties.
"I'm not going to muffle your screams," she smiled. "I want to hear the pain that you're going through. I can't kill you, but I can make you wish that I could. But don't think I'm the best at torture, oh no. Even in my malicious mindset, Akane is worse. She tortures her victims until they're screaming for the end, but unlike me she doesn't give it to them. She pulled off the spider's legs, but let's the creature writhe there… just a body…" she laughed almost silently, but Yuki could still hear the glee. "I wonder if she'll do the same to your cousin."
Yuki felt as Hikari's hands pushed against his cheeks, holding his head forward so he looked at the television. There was no avoiding it.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Haru let out a cry as he was pushed to the ground, all of the air in his lungs forcibly exiting his body. He coughed a single time as he struggled to his feet. He looked up as Akane walked closer to him, her face blank of all expression. The darkness of the room made it hard to make out his surroundings; he couldn't find an escape as the door cut off the light from the hallway. The only sources of light that he could make out were from the cracks of the door, a small oven, as well as a tiny red light from a camera.
"I hope you don't mind if I film this," she whispered only the sound of her boots hitting the ground giving away her location to Haru.
He wanted to lash out at her; he wanted to destroy her before she could get to Yuki. All of those thoughts faded as she heard the grinding of metal against a sheath. She had withdrawn her dagger. He closed his eyes and waited for it to happen, waited for the blow that would finish him of. He was only met with laughter.
"Kill you?" she asked as she walked closer to him. "Why the hell would I do that? No, I won't kill you. As a matter of fact, I won't kill you unless you ask me to…"
"Then get it over with!" Haru yelled. "That's what you want, right? To kill us? I know what you want to do to me! To Yuki! You want to kill us and then send our bodies in pieces to our family. And why? Why do you want to do this? Money? Do we owe you something? Then take it! Don't fuck around, just take it!"
As anger boiled in his body, Akane stayed stoic, nothing was fazing her. Grinding filled the room again as she put the dagger away. Haru closed his eyes tightly as he felt her hands on his back, gently pulling at the fabric of his uniform. He was done for. He was slowly lifted off of his feet, standing in the dark in the center of the room.
"I plan on taking it," Akane answered. "But how about we play a little game first? Unless…" she moved quickly behind Haru, withdrawing her dagger with inhuman speed, placing it against his neck. "You want to die now?"
His body shook as he swallowed against the pressure. "Yuki…" he breathed, every inch of him convulsing. "Will Yuki be alright?"
"He'll be physically unharmed no matter what. Katsu-sama has given us orders, orders that we are not to break. The rat will live," Haru sighed in delight as he grip loosed on the dagger. "I can't say the same for you…"
He heard the rustling of chains above him as the dagger left his neck. He felt his arms being lifted from his sides as she forcibly bound him to the chains, his feet leaving the ground by three inches. His weight became his worst enemy as his arms started to sting, his legs trying desperately to hit the ground as he uncomfortably balanced on his toes. He could see the smile on her face even in the darkness, his heart racing in his chest.
"All of this for him?" she asked as she walked away from him. "You are going to give up everything you are for a rat that used you? For a rat that rode on your back and then jumped off the second that you reached the palace?" she smiled coldly. "If he hadn't you'd be in his position…"
"And he'd be in mine," Haru spat. "I would rather die then have him here with you."
"You don't even know what I'm going to do. Nor do you know what Hikari is capable of," Akane walked closer to him as she raised the dagger to point at his neck. "He took everything from you. He made you a fool. Yet you still stand here by these chains that should be his and sing his praises?"
Haru shook his head as his body still shook, his feet slipping against the ground. "That's not true. You don't know what you're talking about!"
At that moment he felt the first blood be drawn, the stinging sensation of the blade up against his side, ripping through his clothes, destroying his skin. A strngled cry passed his lips as he swallowed hard. Her fingers ran through the wound, his blood burning as his vision clouded. His feet slipped off of the floor and he was left hanging again. And as he looked to his side, all he could see was her licking the blood off of her fingers.
"Toxic blood! Cursed blood!" she yelled as he lifted the dagger again, slamming it down into his leg.
Pain flared up in his body as he could no longer breathe, no longer think. His leg felt like it had been disconnected to his body, twitching uncontrollably against the pressure that the dagger had caused. He cried out as he tried to pull away, only to feel the dagger turn within the wound making it wider. Another scream came from his lips, this one echoing off of the walls as he started to convulse. Slowly he felt his body start to turn into a cow. He was losing control. Sweat poured down his face as he tried to fight the transformation. Akane then withdrew the dagger as the blood splashed against the ground.
"Painful?" she asked.
"What are you talking about?" Haru asked back, his voice shaking violently. "Is that all you've got?"
She then pulled out a vial of liquid. Haru's heart stopped as he saw the vial. It was full of a mysterious bright blue serum, something that he thought he would see only out of movies. But as he looked at it, he knew what it was: poison. He closed his eyes tightly as he clamped his jaw shut. He wasn't going to die here. Not yet. Visions of Yuki flashed before his eyes, he had to make sure that he was going to make it through this to ensure he'd be alright. He had to make sure that he was going to live through this. His body shook as he felt himself on the verge of transforming.
"Drink this…" she whispered as he moved her hand to his cheeks, trying to forcibly open his mouth, prying at his jaw. "It'll help you!"
He opened his mouth as he nails dug into his skin, the pain becoming unbearable. The second he opened his mouth, he felt the liquid fill his mouth. It tasted metallic, acidic, he gagged as he almost vomited, one hand forcing his jaw closed. He shook as he other hand moved to his neck, pushing forcibly against his Adam's apple. All circulation in his body stopped as he involuntarily swallowed the liquid, his body shaking as he felt it run through his esophagus.
"See, not so bad," she backed away from him as he coughed, trying desperately to vomit the liquid. "If you behaved you wouldn't have to go through that. But you just insist on being a bratty child."
Haru swallowed the taste of the potion in his mouth, taking a deep breath as he looked at her. "It's all going to be worth it. This is nothing compared to what you're going to put him through."
She moved quickly, the dagger again at Haru's throat. "Is it worth dying like an animal?" he shook against the increasing pressure of the dagger against his throat. "Shall I remind you of the pain that the rat has put you through?"
He shuddered as he felt the skin break beneath the blade. All hope was lost.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Yuki's eyes didn't leave the screen as the screams emerged from Haru, the dagger slicing his skin as Akane's hand wrapped around his neck. He looked at his cousin and saw him slowly start to die. The laughter from Hikari filling the room as the display continued.
"Akane is being especially wicked today," the woman commented as she looked over at Yuki, the boy fighting the urge to vomit as his eyes remained on the screen. She moved closer to him as she placed her hands on his shoulders. "This is all because of you…"
Yuki's heart sank in his chest as he heard those words. "Wh-what do you mean?"
"I mean that you were the reason why this is all happening. Because you climbed on his back and took his place as the first one there," her cackling made his breathing halt. "If you had let him finish first, he would be the one in this chair, the one spared by the merciful Katsu-chan. Instead he's there with that violent maniac. That's where you should be you filth!"
He closed his eyes as he swallowed a throat full of vomit, gagging on the taste as he heard the screams. Every nerve was set ablaze as he tried to blokc it all out. This wasn't happening. This wasn't his fault. The more he thought about it, the more he knew. This was all his doing.
"Haru…" he whispered, his hands desperately trying to break their binds to reach him, his breathing becoming labored. "Stop it…"
Hikari giggled at the sight. "She can't hear you. Neither can he. You can scream, you can howl, you can make all of the noise you want and neither will ever hear you in here. You can't save him. You're nothing more than a pathetic rodent."
Yuki's body convulsed. "Stop it!" his voice was growing louder. "Stop it!" his voice broke as his cries increased in volume and emotion, his body shaking as he tried to break his binds. "Haru!"
0o0o0o0o0o0
Akane backed away from Haru as he coughed violently, his body shaking. It was almost over. She looked at her work; there was nothing left that resembled the boy that she had brought in there. His pale skin was covered with scars; his dark eyes were lifeless as they looked forward, fixated at nothing. He was nothing but a shell. He mission was accomplished.
She moved to the oven in the corner, pulling out a rod, the red hot metal illuminating the room. A smile rolled across her face as she looked at the boy. It was time for the finishing touch. She moved closer and closer, only hearing the rasping of his breathing fill the room.
"You're about to receive the finishing touch that we want to give to all of you. The mark that represents our conquest over you," she moved the iron closer to him. "This is how our dream began. You're soul now belongs to us."
She pressed the hot metal to Haru's left bicep, his body tensing as he howled, tears pouring down his face as the convulsions continued, the screams filling the room as his flesh burned. The horror continued for a while until the screaming ceased his body falling lips on the chains, the sound of labored breathing vanishing. It was at this moment, she pulled the iron away, dropping it into a bucket of water.
Digging into her pocket, she pulled out some lips stick and moved closer to the unconscious boy, taking the cap off. She instantly drew an "X" on his forehead, marking the spot where she was going to strike. She backed away and slowly began to search for a hammer walking out of the door to find one.
That was the moment when she saw the man in the hallway. She looked at him carefully, and she knew that he was one of them. Before her eyes was Souma Hatori: the dragon. He was then met by another man who was out of breath, sensing that he was one of them as well, this one Souma Shigure: the dog.
"Where is he?" the dragon asked as he looked into her eyes. "Where are you keeping him?"
She sighed, it was all over. But her deed was still done. "Over there," she pointed to the door that would lead them to the cow, what was left of the cow.
She slowly walked away as they ran toward the room, pulling out her communicator. "Hikari, they've found us. We need to leave now."
0o0o0o0o0o0
Shigure and Hatori ran into the room, their eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. They walked deeper into the room, trying desperately to find Haru or Yuki. Hatori walked forward, his arm in front of him as he ventured through the dark room, trying to feel one of the boys, Shigure doing the same as they walked in different directions. Suddenly, Shigure bumped into something. There dangling from the ceiling was Haru's body, unconscious.
"Haa-san!" Shigure yelled as he looked at the dragon. "It's Haru."
Hatori ran as fast as he could to the ox's side. "How do we get him down?"
"Is there a key?" Shigure asked.
Hatori then quickly picked the locks, Haru's body falling gently into his arms. He was completely lifeless; his body starting to lose heat, blood dripping rapidly from him. But Hatori froze in place as he realized something even more severe. He looked up at Shigure and with a face full of fear said:
"Haru's not breathing."
Shigure stood there frozen as Hatori placed Haru's body on the ground, breathing frantically into his mouth. Still Haru wasn't breathing. Hatori continued over and over, trying to get a single breath to come from the boy's lungs, but there was none. Shigure closed his eyes as he heard Hatori cursing, his heart stopping as he realized what had happened.
"Come on, Haru!" Hatori was on the verge of weeping. "Breathe! Breathe!"
Shigure's eyes started to water as he looked at his cousin trying to revive the boy. "We were too late…"
0o0o0o0o0o0
"Haru," Yuki whimpered as Ayame was undoing his binds, not looking at the screen. "Haru!" he struggled out of the chair, trying to get to the television. "Haru!" his voice was breaking as his breathing increased. "Haru! Breathe! Damn it!" tears started to roll down his cheeks. "Damn it!"
He bowed his head as his binds were undone. "I'm sorry…" he sobbed, his body shaking. "I'm so sorry Haru…" tears fogged up his vision as his brother pulled him out of the chair. "It should have been me there… Haru…"
0o0o0o0o0o0
Hatori continued with the rescue breathing, trying desperately to save his life. He tried and tried, but none of it seemed any use as Haru still wasn't breathing. Then as he backed away one last time, he felt Haru's breath on his lips. A sigh of relief escaped Hatori as he pulled Haru's body closer to him; a smile was on his face.
"He's breathing…" Hatori breathed as he held onto Hatsuharu's body.
He removed his coat and wrapped it around Haru's body, trying to retain some of the heat that was within him. He looked up at Shigure as the two of them ran out the building, all of the desperation from the morning not dying as Haru's blood was seeping through the coat. They needed help now.
They then met up with Ayame as they ran out of the building. "How's Yuki?" Shigure asked.
Ayame shook his head as he kept his arms wrapped around his brother. "He saw the whole thing. They made him watch everything that happened to Haru."
"Shigure, you drive. I'll see to Haru's wounds as well as any Yuki may have," Hatori explained.
"Okay," Shigure answered.
All of them got into the car as they were prepared to drive off. Tears formed in Yuki's eyes as he looked at Haru, his hands reaching to touch his wounded cousin. There wasn't a dry eye in the car as he continued to weep Haru's name, his hands shaking up against his flesh.
"I'm sorry, Haru…" Yuki's voice was weak as he moved closer to Haru's body, his hands shaking violently. "I'm sorry… it should have been me. It should have been me…"
As they drove away from the warehouse, Hatori closed his eyes tightly. As all of the pain surrounded him, as all of the misery erupted he held onto Haru, feeling his breathing stabilize. This was all going to over soon. He prayed to God that this was all going to be over soon.
I'm sorry that it took me so long. I got buried in so many ideas and school that I put this on hold. But now, more than a year later I have finally posted a new chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'll try to work on this story more.
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