Chapter 6: Alive

She cried. A lot. After what seemed like hours of standing in the dark room, staring at the closed door, she ran to it, knocking against it with everything she had. "Akito! Akito! I'm sorry. Do you hear me?" She cried, salty tears slipping over her cheeks, on her lips. She tasted the salt and hiccupped. It was so dark, so sad, so depressive. "Can we talk? Akito? Akito?" She continued to hit the massive door; she continued to call his name. If she stopped calling, if she stopped screaming, Toru knew she was going to suffocate in her panic.

But it was no use.

Her voice cracked. "Akito," she croaked and then slid down the door, falling on the floor in a heap of hopelessness. She just wanted to get out of here. This darkness… this darkness was the worst. Was Akito the worst, too? She cried, feeling almost dehydrated but couldn't help herself. No. She was the worst. She had pushed him. She had known him to be panicky when it came to losing her, she should have paid more attention to his needs. "Akito," she whispered, curling into herself, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." For a moment which felt like forever, Toru kept lying there, whispering that she was sorry. She never stopped whispering, instead she got up and walked through the darkness, hitting the wall opposite and continuing to walk in a different direction until she hit the wall again. The brown-haired girl continued to walk in cycles, back and forth, to the side.

Toru eventually settled into a corner. She had long forgotten where the door was—if there was a door at all. Was she going to get out of here? Was she going to live? She didn't know, there was darkness, always darkness, everywhere. Toru hid her face in her hands, lightly rubbing her hands over her face. She was scared. Where was her mother? Where was she? Where was Akito? She continued to sob and cry into her hands, leaning heavily against the wall. Toru didn't know what she wanted to do. Was she able to do anything at all? Why couldn't Akito come and save her like he always did? Like he did on that day.

The rain was pitter-pattering against the window. Toru stared. She didn't eat. She didn't do anything at all. Besides crying, staring and sleeping. Votani and Hanajima sat in front of her. "Toru." Votani's voice was raspy, dark circles under her eyes. She had cried a lot, too. Hanajima said nothing, simply holding on to Toru's hand which was limply lying in hers. "You have to eat something, Toru." Hanajima held up a piece of orange. The girl's eyes fell on the orange and she immediately teared up. "Mom…" Tears fell onto her skirt.

"Wow. Crying is all you can do nowadays, is it?"

Votani and Hanajima looked up. A black-haired guy was standing in the doorway, a few years older possibly. Behind him was a tall man with the same black hair, his falling over one eye. "What's your problem?" Arisa clipped, jumping to her feet, glaring at this unknown person. Who was he? "Cute. Do you have bodyguards now, Toru? Do they make sure that you stay in the miserable mess that is you?" The guy made a few steps in their direction but Votani literally jumped in his way, baring her teeth at him like a dog. "Fuck off! Toru's hurting and you're getting nowhere near her!" Hanajima still said nothing, continuing to hold Toru's hand and watching Arisa screaming at the guy.

The young man narrowed his black eyes and raised his head. "You don't tell me what to do, yankee," he snarled dangerously low. "Watch me," Arisa seethed and if she was a cat, she would have probably hissed. "Stop." Everyone looked at Toru. She hadn't stopped crying and looked at Akito and Arisa with lifeless, brown eyes. "Stop. I…" Akito got to her in mere seconds. He grasped the hem of her blouse and pulled her up by it, shaking her. "You think you can tell me what to do?" he screamed, "You think now it's your turn to boss me around?" Arisa cracked her knuckles. "Let go of her you stupid son of a bitch!"

"You have your petty little friends holding your hand, tending to your every whim. Ahh, how nice it must be to be so cared for, right, to be treated in such a kind manner." He pushed her backwards where Toru stumbled against the wall. "But I believe you've forgotten about me, you stupid girl. That doesn't sit right with me, you know? You promised to always be there for me." He bent forward, his mouth almost hovering next to her ear. "Nobody likes people who do not keep what they promised." Toru's head shot up. She cried again, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry," she sobbed and the moment Akito stepped back and raised his arms the slightest bit, she fell against him, holding onto the back of his yukata with her hands as his arms curled around her. "I'm sorry but Mom is… Mom is…"

The black-haired guy tightened his hold on her, staring at the wall in front of him. "Yeah. She's dead." Toru stilled. "She's gone. She's not coming back." Toru wanted to detangle herself from him but his arms were like iron, their grip unbreakable. "You are here. You are alive." Her brown eyes stared at him, trying to understand his words. "So do your best. And stop making a pitiable fool out of yourself." He stepped back, snatched two pieces of orange from the table and shoved one in her mouth, the other one in his own. "Remember Kyoko-san and honor her and for God's sake stop crying." Akito swallowed and half turned around. "You look ugly with puffy eyes."

After that, Hatori and Akito left and Arisa and Hanajima had cuddled her, throwing in favorite movies and cooking her favorite meal. Toru had laughed, smiled, giggled and went to sleep with a smile on her lips, thankful for such good friends.

Where was that friend now?

The darkness was pulling at her, trying to engulf her completely. Toru simply rested her head on her knees which she had pulled to her chest, hugging them for some kind of comfort. "You're alive," she whispered, slightly imitating Akito's clipped tone from that moment, "Alive. Alive. Alive. Alive." She pressed her face to her knees, trying to keep everything together although it was falling apart in front of her eyes.

How long had she been in here, she wondered. She wasn't hungry, thirsty, tired. Only pained, troubled, frightened. An hour? Ten hours? A day? Toru didn't know. She simply sat there, rocking back and forth and whispering "Akito" and "Alive". The only two things that mattered.

Akito stood in front of the door. He switched his weight from one foot to the other. He was willing to accept the perspective that maybe—maybe—he had overreacted. Slightly. He was unsure what to expect when opening the door. It was well past midnight, as dark outside as it probably was in Yuki's room but Akito hadn't been able to fall asleep. His hand touched the key in the pocket of his yukata and he shrugged. Why was he being afraid?

He unlocked the door and pushed it open. He had brought a lantern and the orange light filled Yuki's room, chasing the darkness away. He spotted Toru in a corner of the room. He walked over, kneeling in front of her. "Hello," he said but he didn't get an answer. She was mumbling something though. He bent down to hear the words better and was surprised to hear his own name. 'Akito'. The second word was 'alive' and he immediately knew where she picked up that one. "Oi." He nudged her knee and she shot up, gaping at him out of wide eyes. "A-akito?" Her voice was raspy and there was that feeling again, guilt-like, which tugged at his heartstrings. "Yes, it's me, you airhead." She continued to stare at him. Her eyes were puffy, her cheek swollen from where he had hit her and her nose had obviously decided to bleed some more since there was some blood under it. His dark eyes observed her ugly face and especially looked at her hair. He really had done a poor job with it.

She looked really young now but the strands were cut unevenly. Her fringe was still in place but it was plastered to her forehead. Akito smiled to himself. She looked so utterly ugly and ridiculous… When his gaze focused back on the girl in front of him, he was surprised to find her quivering, her eyes closed. Toru looked as if awaiting pain. He felt anger rising within him. "Why are you afraid, idiot?" he asked and noticed that his hand holding the lantern was also shaking visibly, making the shadows on her face dance. "When you smiled before… you were angry. I'm afraid that you are still angry, that I did something wrong. I am sorry." She cried and buried her face against her knees, hiding it from his eyes.

But there was no hiding from hin.

The head of the family grabbed a fistful of her short hair and pulled her head up, making her look him in the eyes. "Don't you dare hide your ugly face from me," he hissed and she gasped before silently wiping away still flowing tears. Toru watched him and he rolled his eyes. So complicated and annoying. He didn't want her to be afraid. She shouldn't be afraid. Toru should smile his words away like she usually did. Akito released her hair, his fingertips ghosting over the back of her head, her jaw and resting on her bottom lip.

"It's no fun to keep you inside Yuki's room." His hand moved again, over her jaw, onto her neck. "Have you learned your lesson?" he wanted to know and titled his head, studying her eyes. "I am sorry that I have moved away from you, Akito," she silently answered and he smiled, gleeful for only a moment. "Repeat the promise and I will forgive you." Toru closed her eyes. Her hands—rough, calloused and wound, he noticed—cupped his face. "I will always love you. I will always be there for you. I will help you fight darkness and bad dreams." He frowned. She strayed from the original promise. Toru's blue eyes suddenly bore into his. "I will always be by your side wether you need me or not. I will cook you meals and write you funny messages and I will wash your back in the bath tub." What the hell was she thinking? Akito wanted to pull back; he didn't want to hear this sappy shit and those stupid goals. "I don't care that you cut my hair, I don't care that you slapped me. I know you were hurt and I am sorry." She smiled at him through pain and bloodied, hurt skin. "'cause you came to save me."

Akito slowly bent forwards and tugged at her neck. Toru was surprised and moved along. Their lips met easily. Akito pressed his lips to hers and he could taste fear, salt and blood. But as her hand hesitantly touched his half-bared chest and her eyes fluttered close, he could taste something different. He tasted 'always'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket and I don't earn money with this.

YES! I believe you thought I would never write another chapter but here I am. You guys probably forgot all over this fanfiction but I hope you'll still enjoy this chapter.

Question of the day: What would your reaction be when Akito opened the door and joined you in hell?

Don't fret peeps, the four princes will safely (or not so safely) arrive next chapter but what will they find…..well. By the way, I'm awfully sorry about the mistakes I make. As I mentioned before, English is not my mother-tongue so please be kind. v_v)/

Differences to the manga/anime:

• Arisa & Hanajima do know Akito & Hatori (briefly) and I'll let you ponder what exactly that means or could mean in the future.

I hopefully will be back soon(er) than last time and I hope you enjoyed this piece of angsty shit! :D

XOXO Padlock