Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ All Stories Have a Beginning ❯ Introduction ( Prologue )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

She stared at the keyboard, wanting to write, wanting to let it all out, but unsure of how to. She had a story to tell, a story she wanted to tell, a story she needed to tell, a story she simply couldn't tell. Well... that wasn't true. Once she began, she was sure she would be able to tell it just fine. It was the beginning that was the problem...

Anime/Manga: Fruits Basket Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.27.2005 | Updated On: 06.20.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 1.7K | Visits: 620 | Status: Completed

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, or any of the characters.

Introduction

“It's always the beginnings,” she whispered, tracing her finger across the keys slowly, row by row, from “]” to “q” and “z” to “/” and then starting all over again. Beginnings were always a problem for her.

“Mama! Mama!” Mamoru ran in and tugged on her long, flowing skirt, begging for attention. “Kaiya's here and wants to play! Can I, Mama? Can I?”

So cheerful and innocent… she gazed down on her son's face, looking up at her hopefully. She had once looked like that too… Hana-chan had told her…

“Tohru-san,” Kaiya said, almost breathed, a throaty, breathy whisper so like her mothers, one that caused Tohru to blink every single time, expecting to find the child's mother instead of the child herself. “Can Mamoru play with me? We'll be home before dark.”

Kaiya's calm, passive expression. Mamoru's giddy, childish grin. Kaiya looked so much older than she really was, while Mamoru looked younger. The sight of them together was still enough to make Tohru want to weep. “Y-yes, of course! Be careful!”

Kaiya let herself smile, and Mamoru squealed. “Thank you, Mama!” He hugged her legs tightly, then ran out the door and past Kaiya, who simply watched him, then followed after him, walking. The pair made Tohru smile.

“Mama?” Tohru blinked and found Mamoru standing in the doorway. “Will you tell me tonight where my daddy is?”

“Uh—“ Tohru had been postponing telling her child for so long… it was time for him to know the truth… time for her to face the truth. “Yes, dear. Tonight. I'll tell you… tonight.”

~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~

When Tohru looked at her clock again, it read 5:59. The young woman sighed. Mamoru would be coming back soon, and then she would have to tell him. Yes. This time, she would tell him.

“Mama?”

“Yes dear?”

“When is Daddy coming home?”

Tohru hesitated. `Never' was such a harsh word for a young boy of five. No, best to not answer…

“Why do you want to know, Mamoru?”

“I want my daddy,” he said simply, looking at her with such an honest expression it made her heart ache. It was exactly like he used to look at her. Eager to listen to her, absorbing her every words, acting as though he actually cared…

“Mama?”

“Oh… I…” What, Tohru? What? How hard is it to say `he's dead' or `he's not coming back' or… anything! Why can't you say anything?

“Ask me again, Mamoru.”

“Why?”

“I… just ask me again, alright, darling?”

“Okay, Mama! Can I go play with Kaiya?”

“Yes.”

Two months had passed since he had first asked, and almost everyday, he would ask her. And every time he asked, her answer was the same. “Ask me again.” After this, there would be no more “again” for Mamoru to ask. No more questions. No more worrying.

“Everything will be fine…” she whispered, tucking her short, cropped hair behind her ear. She'd first cut her long, beautiful brown hair six years ago, when…

“When everything began.”

Footsteps raced to her apartment door, and then Mamoru - for it was obviously Mamoru - started to knock frantically. “Mama! Mama! Let me in! Don't let Kai—aah!”

Smiling, Tohru rose from her chair and strode across the door, unlocking it and then opening it and looking down. There, Mamoru was on the ground, squirming and laughing, and Kaiya was on top of him, tickling him furiously while giggling herself.

“Okay, you two, okay,” Tohru chided gently, laughing herself and picking Kaiya up and letting Mamoru escape.

“Favoritism.” Hana-chan's side was starting to show again. Kaiya was really a beautiful mix of her mother and father, showing the positive traits of each while burying their negative ones.

“Kaiya-chan!” Tohru protested. “I—“

“Sure, sure.” Kaiya gave them a smile, then walked down the hall, heading, Tohru knew, toward her own apartment.

“Mama.” Mamoru was tugging on her skirt again, and Tohru, this time, looked down at him with a bit of dread. She knew what was coming.

“Will you tell me about Daddy tonight?”

”Yes, darling… I promised I would…” she took his tiny hand, which wrapped instinctively around her index finger, and led him inside, sitting down on their favorite chair, then plopping him down on top of her.

“Your father's name was…” it pained her to say it, even after six years. A fact she hadn't known until now, a fact that made no sense. Weren't her wounds healed by now?

“His name, Mama?”

“Ando. Hideki Ando.”