Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Broken ❯ Ribbons of Fate ( Chapter 12 )

This story is very dark, angsty and full of a lot of mature themes. IF you are too young to see a "R" rated movie, you are too young to read this. IF you choose to read it, regardless of the rating, remember you have been warned. Don't go running to Mom and Dad saying I've ruined your illusion of a happy shiny world. J

Disclamer:

NK: *Looks on the screen trying to spell check her story. Suddenly she feels a tap on her shoulder. "Oh, hello Tohru."

Tohru: "Kyou is getting really annoyed with you for taking so long on this story."

NK: "I'm writing as fast as I can, some of us have jobs and family crises and car wrecks that have kept us occupied."

Tohru: "Well I just wanted to warn you..."

NK: "Tell him he's not even in the next chapter, or if he ends up there its only peripherally. That's what he gets for being a brat."

Tohru: "I suppose you should just say it and get on with it... talking like this isn't going to get it done any faster.

NK: *smiles* I do not in anyway own Fruits Basket, if I did I'd never write the fan fiction."

Broken

Nocturnem's Koneko

Chapter 12 - Ribbons of Fate

Kyou settled Tohru to her feet gently once he passed the main gates of the compound.

"Are you ok?" His voice was hushed, all signs of his previous rage wiped away as he reached toward her.

As they stood beneath the streetlamps outside the gates, he pulled her hair back from her neck to survey the damage Akito had inflicted. Tohru nodded lifting her eyes to meet his.

"I'm ok, Kyou." She tried to assure him, "Really."

Tohru read his look of disbelief clearly; even as she watched the tears begin to well up in his eyes. He blinked them away, willing his own inner turmoil to cease, if only for a little while.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get there quick enough to stop him from hurting you again. I failed you. I promised to protect you and I failed you." He turned his face from hers even as he brought his hands up to her shoulders and pulled her into the circle of his arms. "Can you forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive. How could you have known what he would do? The whole family was right there under his roof. He should have been tending to his guests. You stopped him before he could do any lasting damage, that's all that matters." She lifted her casted hand up to his face and turned it to face her slowly. "I would stand any pain he chooses to give me to be with you, Kyou." There was a long pause. "Let's go home."

Kyou nodded slowly, not quite trusting his own voice. He leaned over her, pulling her to him tighter and brushed her lips lightly with his own, before releasing her. He turned in the direction of Shigure's house, gathering Tohru's hand into his. They walked in silence, moving at a leisurely pace through the darkened streets, each lost to their own thoughts, yet feeling a kind of calming peace from the warmth of the contact of their two hands.

The silence was comfortable, not strained. It was in that silence that the beginnings of a plan began to form within Kyou's mind. He lost all track of time and was shocked out of his private musings when he heard Tohru's voice next to him.

"Kyou, we're here."

Tohru, for her part, had been doing some thinking herself. Kyou seemed shaken by the most recent attack. The silence, while comfortable, worried her a bit. He was too calm. Kyou reacted to things violently. He was loud and volatile. He should have been shouting all the way home, like he had been when she'd gone to him after Akito's attack. Instead he was turning inward, his eyes gaining a far away look that comes when a person is completely lost in their own thoughts. She only hoped that he wasn't trying to figure out a way to tell her that they couldn't be together. While the walk from the main house to Shigure's was one he could have done while asleep, she hadn't expected him to be so into his thoughts that he kept walking, right up the stairs and almost through the closed door, proving vividly that he definitely could walk it with no awareness. She was the one that brought them to a halt at the door, even that didn't seem to faze him.

"Kyou, we're here."

Kyou shook his head as he came back to the real world and the girl standing beside him. "Oh, sorry, I guess I was kinda lost in thought."

He dug into his pants pockets and pulled out his set of keys to the door. He put the key into the lock and turned it, then pushed the door open and allowed her to enter first. The night light that they had left on lit the room with a gentle glow. Kyou closed the door behind him as he slid out of the shoes he was wearing and then turned the lock on the door before passing through to the house's main room. Tohru had already made it inside and was sliding out of her jacket when he entered.

"Are you ok, Kyou? You've been awfully quiet." Tohru turned to face him, her voice filled with concern.

"I'm fine now that we are out of that place." Kyou said, still in that same subdued tone. "I was just thinking about some things on the way home. I'm sorry that I spaced out on you like that. I didn't mean to worry you." He met her eyes and fell silent. Should he take her hand and lead them both upstairs? Should he give her some space? Did she need some time to figure out everything that had happened in the last twenty four hours? He wanted to hold her, knowing that if she was in his arms, she would sleep without fear and he would know she was safe. When did this all get so complicated?

Tohru simply nodded, taking him at his word, and suddenly feeling very tired. There was a tension building in the room as if they were both trying to figure out exactly what the rules were for their blossoming relationship. What to say, what not to say, how to express feelings without being too forward. She wanted so much to just reach out her hand and lead him to their bed. That was how she thought of it now, as theirs; it had been since the first night he'd stayed there with her quieting her dreams. She wanted to feel his arms wrapped tightly around her as she slept. But, it was clear that he was still awake.

It was Tohru that broke the heavy silence as they looked at one another. "I'm going to go on up to bed, Kyou. I can barely hold my eyes open."

A look of what seemed to be relief crossed Kyou's face. She'd given them a plausible reason for not discussing things further. What had been so simple this morning wasn't so easy now. Wanting to be with her, yet not wanting to push, not knowing exactly how to put into words, what he was feeling or thinking had left him at a loss for what the next step he needed to make might be. Relationships had never been his strong suit. He gave her an understanding smile.

"That's not very surprising, given the day that you've had. Go on, I'm still wound up, so I'll be up a while longer."

She padded over to him, tiptoeing up to brush a kiss across his lips and then headed up the stairs toward her room, oblivious to his eyes upon her. Truth be told, he was a little leery of sleeping at all tonight. Her near breakdown the night before had frightened him no small amount. What if, after today, she woke again to the dreams and decided that she couldn't take it anymore and he didn't wake up to stop her. He wanted to believe that what was happening between them was going to have a positive effect. He wanted to believe that now she would know that she could come to him and use his shoulder when she needed to cry. He wanted to be able to just wrap her up and keep her from feeling any pain at all. Unfortunately, he knew that wouldn't be the case. No matter how much she cared for him, it was too soon. In retrospect, making love to her last night had been the wrong thing to do. Her head really wasn't back on her shoulders yet and the whole thing felt like he had in some way taken advantage of her now. She hadn't needed the additional complication of him. However, what was done was done. There was no going back, only moving forward. And, if Kami Sama would just be with him for a change, it would all turn out. Come what may, his heart was lost completely.

Once Kyou heard the door to her room close, he headed up the stairs to his own room, and then made his way out the window and up to the roof. His mind drifted from the girl in the room beneath him and back to the plan that had started blossoming on their way back to Shigure's. It would entail a lot of training and a lot of planning. But it could be done, if he could get the rest of the younger set to help. It was obvious that the older Juunishi were not going to do anything about Akito. It would be up to them to make sure that Tohru stayed safe and out of his hands. As the pieces began to fall together in his mind, a wicked smile crossed his face.

In their world, there had never been justice. No one had ever defended any of them from the depredations of their Clan Head, really. Akito's time for a little justice was coming. It was time that those precious scales tilted their way. He closed his eyes, enjoying the images that particular thought brought forth in his mind's eye. With the closing of his eyes, the battle to stay awake was lost. He slid into slumber with those images his imagination conjured fueling his dreams.

Tohru slept fitfully in the room beneath him, tossing and turning completely taken by dream and memory. Her mind was screaming wanting only to be able to find something to hold on to something to give her strength as she relived Akito's torture. She could feel his hands, smell his scent. His breath was hot upon her skin. She reached out straining to find something that would act as a buffer for the pain, something that would take the biting edge and reality of what she was feeling away. She knew she was dreaming, yet she couldn't awaken. And then suddenly, there was another presence in the dream. She couldn't see it, hidden in the shadows away from her, but she could feel it, giving her strength, as she watched the merciless attack unfold, at one with it and yet apart.

Kyou twitched in his sleep as the dream he was having darkened and he found himself in a candle lit hall, the smell of sex and sweat tingeing the air. Ahead of him there was a room that seemed to be candle lit as well, though it was brighter to his eyes. He moved toward that room quietly. He could hear voices emanating from it. Both seemed very familiar to him. Then, he heard Tohru scream. He ran the last part of the distance to enter the room only to run into an inky barricade, which he could see through, but couldn't cross. . He struggled to wake up; knowing, somehow, this was Tohru's dream not his and he needed to wake her up, but the dream wouldn't release him. There was a soft touch on his thoughts as he gazed into the room his whole being was filled with horror as he watched the scene unfold before him. But this other presence lingered with him, as if gaining something solely from his presence, so he steeled himself and continued watched.

Akito rose from his place between Tohru's thighs, a look that she could not distinguish passing across his face. He looked away from her, breathing in deep breaths. Tohru closed her legs and rolled onto her side, crying quietly as she curled herself into a fetal position. She still watched the clan head, wondering what torment he had in store for her next as he walked to the dais where he normally lay and picked up a pitcher and two glasses from the tray that sat there. He settled onto the floor next to her pouring himself a glass of water and also one for Tohru. He set it down in front of her and helped her into a sitting position, reaching for her battered shirt and pulling it over her arms.

"Our night together is not finished yet, but a short rest seems in order. I have one last gift to give to you before I can allow you to leave." His voice was soft, oddly gentle, a trace of regret coloring the words.

She lifted her eyes to his and watched a fleeting moment of pain cross them.

"Before you can be one of us, one more ritual must be done, to seal the magicks of the other two." He reached out a hand toward her face as he spoke those words. She flinched back from him. "This one need not be so painful or rushed. I cannot leave you terrified of the touch of a man if my plan is to work."

Tohru just stared at him. Somehow, this subdued gentleness was far more terrifying to her than the madness she had endured already. How could he just flip like a light switch, maniacal one moment, now this? He was truly insane. There was no trace of his anger now, none of the rage that had been brought down upon her. But she was still trapped by him, gentle or not. She was his prisoner, his toy to do with as he pleased. The best thing to do under the circumstances was just cooperate and eventually he'd let her leave.

They sat like this for a short time. Akito had fallen silent, sipping his drink and staring off into space. Tohru wasn't really sure that he was aware that she was still in the room with him, until she finished her drink, setting it down on the floor next to where she sat.

"Rested now?" Akito whispered softly. "Let us finish this then."

Akito stood and then crouched down, sliding his hands beneath her body and she flinched.. He picked her up with ease and carried her into his private chambers. The room was dim, lit only by candles. He walked over to the bed and laid her gently upon it. She looked around the room as he moved to the other side of the bed, noting the silver candlesticks around the room, all in the more fantastical forms of the Juunishi. She moved away from him as he reached out for her. His hand caught her waist and pulled her to him and laid her on her back. He reached up to the posts of the bed, pulling the ribbons that tied the curtains of the bed loose so that the curtains fell around them. He pulled her hands up above her head, and tied one ribbon to each of her hands.

Akito tied those ribbons to the posts of the head of the bed. He then retreated to the end of the bed repeating his actions and tying her ankles to the posts at the end of the bed. When the last curtain fell, the area around them was composed of nothing but darkness. She could see nothing, but her other senses heightened. She could hear him breathing as he moved back toward her. She felt the bed dip with each movement he made.

Tohru was almost inhumanly aware of everything that was going on around her. She could feel the blood from the wounds on her stomach as it trickled down on to the satiny softness of the sheets beneath her body. She was acutely aware of her heartbeat, of her breathing. Her broken arm ached in the position it had been placed in. She could hear him chanting softly as he moved across her touching each ribbon as he spoke. Her mind cleared as she realized he was speaking to the spirits of the Juunishi, invoking them here. She felt it as Akito brought his hands to her face. She felt the ribbon he held between them. He slid it between her teeth and tied it behind her head.

Then Akito spoke directly to her, his words soft, barely breaths, "I have invoked to spirits of the Juunishi. Each ribbon upon your limbs represents three of them. The fifth represents the secrecy in which we must live. They have agreed to allow you to join them. I have but one more to ask. That requires something more."

Akito began to chant again, even as he began to caress her body. His hands were as light as feathers as they drifted up and down her mostly nude form. And then the chanting halted and the air took on a different feel, the Cat's Vengeful Spirit had joined them. Akito pulled back onto his knees. Though, Tohru could not see him she could feel the difference in him as he came back to her. The Cat's spirit seemed to infuse the Sohma Clan Head as he leaned forward, dropping gentle kisses down her throat and to her breasts.

With each kiss, Tohru cringed, waiting for a bite, with each touch she braced herself for a slap. They never came. Akito made his way down her body at a leisurely pace, dragging his tongue along her curves. He seemed to almost revel in the feel of her. He breathed in her scent deeply. It was then that she realized that this was not Akito at all, but the Cat's spirit riding him. This was the love of the Cat, overriding the Clan Head. Akito was raping her, but the cat was trying to ease the pain, trying to sooth and to comfort.

Akito moved to the end of the bed, sliding between her legs, and bringing his hand down to that most private of places. She jerked when she felt his fingers slide into her. His free hand glided up to her hair, almost petting her as if to calm her. He fondled her, and against any feeling that her mind might have had, her body betrayed her, responding to his touch. She could feel a warmth spreading throughout her that she couldn't fight, even as the tears she was shedding flowed from her eyes.

Once Akito determined she was ready for him, he moved his delicate, sticklike fingers and settled over her, sliding into her slowly. He brought his face down to her neck nuzzling her even as he moved within her, slow measured movements. His hands roamed her body as he moved. Gradually, his movements became more heated, as he moved faster and harder inside her.

Tohru could feel Akito's passion rising. And as much as she hated to feel these feelings with him, she could feel her own body joining his, its needs meeting his in a clash. Her hips rose to respond to him as he brought them together. They came as one.

Tohru felt the air shift as their climax completed. The spirits he had invoked vanished. They were alone again.

Akito reached beneath a pillow at the head of the bed and pulled something out, she could feel something rustling behind her. Then, the ribbon holding her broken arm snapped, and then the other. Akito moved to the end of the bed and cut her bindings there too. He brought the knife's keen edge to her face and slid it beneath the gag. It fell away from her lips.

Akito pushed away the curtains, letting the room's little light flow into the darkness where Tohru lay. He edged off the bed and stood, and began walking from her. "It is done," was all he said as he stepped away. Then as suddenly as this all started, he dropped, falling to the floor as if his legs had become jelly. Tohru lay staring at him wondering what she should do, assessing herself for what she could do now. And then she acted, she ran from the room. In the main room, she stopped long enough to pull on her battered clothes and then ran into the darkness of the night

Kyou jerked awake violently, looking around himself as if to verify that he was indeed awake. What had that been? Had he really been in her dream? He sat still for a moment; he could hear her just barely tossing on her bed and moaning in her sleep. She hadn't woken when he did. He swung back down into his room and ran to her bedroom. Her eyes shot open as he passed through her door.

"Did I…" Tohru started.

"No." Kyou answered before she even finished her sentence.

"I was dreaming again." Tohru said, her head hung and eyes closed.

"I know." Kyou replied as he crossed to her.

"But, if I didn't scream, how did you know?" She said lifting her face to him as he settled down beside her on the bed. She pushed herself into a seating position. Her eyes widened. "You were there, in my dream weren't you, I felt you with me. I was searching for something to give me strength because I couldn't wake up and I pulled you in somehow."

Kyou just looked at her, feelings inside him tumbling in a free fall. He knew her dreams weren't dreams, but memories of what had happened to her. And if things had gone the way they seemed to have gone, the Vengeful Cat's spirit had been along for the ride on that last rape. He had seen the change in the Clan Head, his cat's sight allowing him to see what Tohru had not in that darkness they had been in. The Clan Head had been superimposed by the image of the Cat's Spirit. Its claws had touched her; its nose has smelled her, as much as Akito's hands and nose had. The thought sickened him. In a way that he had not been even aware of, he, himself, had done this to her as well.

He looked down at the floor, away from her dark questioning eyes that were still wet with freshly spilled tears.

"I'm not sure how it all happened Tohru, but I was there with you this time. I saw and heard a lot." His voice grew husky as his emotions threatened to overwhelm him. "I am so sorry Tohru; the Cat… the Cat was there and took part in what happened. I didn't know. I don't understand how you can even stand to be in the same room with me. I'm sorry… I'm sorry." He turned from her to look out the window into the night sky, trying to push back the flood of tears that were threatening to fall.

Tohru came up onto her knees and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She could feel his heart racing as she drew her body close to his, placing her mouth just at his ear as her head leaned against his. "Kyou, beloved, the Cat's presence was what made that last ritual tolerable. Akito took me against my will. Gentle or brutal, rape is still rape. I didn't want what he did. But, during that last ritual, the Cat made love to me. It gave me comfort. You and the Cat have that one thing in common and that is your love for me, your need to see me safe. Without you, it couldn't intercede, but it could show me that what Akito did to me was not what love is, what lovemaking is. It did what it could. I love all of you, and the Cat's Spirit is a part of you. I have never thought of you as less than the others, not even when I saw what the true form of the Cat's spirit is. He frightened me a little, I won't deny that, but that Spirit would never willingly allow me to come to harm. " She paused. "Stay with me. I don't ever want to be in this bed alone again."

Tohru tugged Kyou's arm gently. He didn't respond to what she had said, but allowed himself to be gently pulled to the bed by her. When he turned to face her, he caught her face in his free hand and stared into her eyes. Her figure was illuminated by the light of the moon. She stopped moving, and allowed him to hold her there in his gaze. He looked as if he was searching for something.

Kyou was awed by the gaze that held his. He was held enraptured by the amount of pure, unconditional love that stared back at him. It rocked him to the core of his soul. She, who had seen the very worst of him, seen the very worst that this family had to give, was looking at him as if he held her entire world in his grasp. He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss across her lips even as he gently pushed her back and made his way onto the bed. He lay down and gently pulled her into his arms. Closing his eyes, he felt the last walls he'd had to protect his heart falling away.

*~*~*~*~*

Tohru awoke just as the sun was just rising. She looked at Kyou as he slept; his arm casually lay across her body. He looked as if he had not a care in the world when he slept. She felt guilty for having to wake him. "Kyou. Come on, Kyou, you have to wake up. We have to make our wishes before the sun rises."

Kyou's eyes opened as he heard Tohru talking to him. "Mmm?" He asked, sleepy- eyed.

"We have to make our wishes before the sun rises," she was saying. He smiled at her as he came more awake. Even with her hair tousled from sleep and not quite awake look in her eyes, she was beautiful. "Why would I need to do that?" He asked her teasingly. "I have all I could ever wish for right here."

****I would like to say thank you to Sahira... my new beta reader. She did a great job and made this story quite a bit better with her suggestions for changes.

I also want to thank everyone that has reviewed this story. It's your reviews that keep me writing. And while I may be taking longer than most people seem to think is necessary, I'm trying to write a very complex, yet well written story. Not an excuse mind you, just the blunt truth.

Also, in the past couple months I've had two deaths in my family, a car accident, and some really icky things going on at my job, so please forgive if you can, if not I guess there's nothing I can really do to change your mind.

I do want to warn that this story is going to start moving a lot faster what with school starting back and all for the younger set. We've spent 12 chapters on two weeks, with school starting, the story will be moving to a month or two at a time.

Thanks for reading and listening to my little ramble.

NK****