Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ From The Darkness... It All Begins ❯ Caught in the Web ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: Don't try and sue me for this… I don't own them. Plus I'm poor. Thanks to everyone who commented on the last two chapters, I really appreciate it! (Btw this next chapter is especially angsty and Akito is a bit…insane).

Caught in a Tangled Web

Kyo stood a few feet from the man he despised.

"You! For what you did to Tohru, you deserve to die! Don't you dare run away from me!" Kyo's entire body shook with anger with every word he uttered. All Kyo could think about was the pain Tohru had to endure because of Akito. He had never been so infuriated in his entire life.

"Haha, Kyo, you're very amusing. Who's running away? I certainly never would, least of all from you," Akito smugly replied.

"She was the only one who cared for us… everyone else would have rejected us! Why would you try to take her away?"

A small smile escaped Akito's lips as he sat down on a moldy tree stump.

"You're very pathetic. Besides, you really think she accepts you? She may have seen your monster form but I can guarantee that she is still afraid of you. You should thank me for getting rid of her. Everything I do, I do it for the good of this family. Why can't you see that?"

A thought entered Kyo's mind, `Akito thinks she's dead? If I don't take care of him, he might go after her again.'

Akito continued, "Besides, why do you care so much? She is just a silly little girl." An evil grin crossed his face, "didn't you know that Yuki confessed his undying love to her? She would have never returned your feelings. Not like that really matters anymore though, considering the circumstances. Your destiny is just like every other cat in this family; to be feared and left alone to die!"

With that last comment, Kyo knew he wouldn't be able to hold back his anger much longer. Akito made his blood boil and Kyo knew he enjoyed doing that. He had enjoyed it since they were children.

"You asshole! Don't you ever talk about Tohru like that! You don't care about anyone except for your own selfish pride. You act all mighty, but in reality you're just twisted and sad. You are the one who deserves to feel this pain, not us. You deserve to die, and I'm not willing to wait for the curse to do it!" Kyo shouted.

With these last words, Kyo charged forward trying to avoid the broken branches and holes in the ground, which would slow him down. A small smile shone in the moonlight as Kyo ran towards him with his fists balled, ready to strike. Akito knew that he had the upper hand, because Kyo's judgment was always impaired when he was angry. He was definitely prepared.

From behind Akito's back, he held a small but very sharp knife, which he had taken from the abandoned house, earlier that day. Luckily for Akito, Kyo didn't notice. He suppressed a giggle as he gripped it ready to attack. It happened so fast, that all Kyo saw was a small flicker of metal and then a sharp pain in the center of his chest.

At the instant Kyo felt the metal, he stopped in his tracks. He looked down and saw Akito's knife sticking out of his chest. Dumbfounded, he stared for a minute before really realizing what had happened. Once reality sank in, he cursed at himself. Kyo looked up at Akito, who was only standing inches away. Watching him with wide eyes, Akito grinned back at him, obviously pleased with himself. With that, Kyo slowly slumped to the ground, gasping in pain. Once again, he thought, his temper had got the best of him.

Akito stood in front of Kyo, witnessing the pain he had inflicted. The sight of Kyo's blood running down his chest, made Akito's smile grow even bigger. It made him feel much more powerful than hurting a silly little girl.

"Too bad, you weren't as much fun as Tohru was. She at least screamed a few times." He sighed, "I will be waiting if you wish to discuss this again." Akito said, still watching Kyo on the ground, groaning in pain.

But Kyo was no longer listening to anything but his own raspy breaths and rapid heartbeat. His eyes slid closed as the pain washed over him. He dug his hands into the soft ground and tried to hoist himself up. But as much as he tried, his body wouldn't respond. From the corner of his eye, a small tear ran down his face as he pictured Tohru smiling. Wishing he had not shown Akito that single tear, he opened his eyes and stared blankly at him. Kyo cursed himself for not being stronger or faster; otherwise he might of won.

"Poor cat. You can do nothing but think of her, huh? Well I suppose the rivalry between you and Yuki is over, considering that I killed her. You'll have to find something else to fight about then. I really do pity you, you should never let your emotions get the best of you."

Kyo's vision soon became blurry as he struggled to hold onto his last pure thought, the dream he had once envisioned. He found that his dream had shattered in pieces and it was all because of Akito. `I'm never good enough for her; she deserves to be with Yuki. But I should have been the one to confess.'

Akito watched Kyo for a moment before slipping into the darkness of the forest once again, the smile never leaving his face. `Serves them right, thinking they can defy me.'

*********

At that very instant, a sudden chill ran down Shigure's back. `Something is wrong, I can feel it.' He wrinkled his forehead in frustration as he tried to figure it all out. Sniffing the air, he smelled Yuki approaching the house. `Yuki is here. That must mean that something happened to Kyo.' In his mind, that was the only other option. He knew that Akito would not be taken down so easily.

Shigure cursed himself for not stopping the enraged cat, but there are very few who could stop Kyo once he was that angry. And of course, the one who could of done it was lying in a pool of their own blood. He had no right to try to stop Kyo. He knew the pain that he must going through. It must be tearing him up inside.

At that moment, Yuki rushed in. "Shigure, is everything okay?" his grey eyes shone with concern. "How is Tohru?"

"She is fine physically. But more importantly, we need to leave and get Kyo at once. I will explain the rest of Tohru's situation in the car. One thing I can tell you is that Kyo's life is in danger. I knew I shouldn't of let him go."

"Fine," Yuki said, obviously angry that he would have to save the stupid cat once again.

"Hatori! We're leaving to check on Kyo. Please let us know if there are any news."

Peeking his head in the room, Hatori peered at them. Yuki was surprised to see pity in Hatori's eyes. His glance made him even more apprehensive.

"Yes, I will do that. Be careful you two." Hatori calmly replied.

Once Shigure and Yuki got into the car, Shigure explained the entire situation including Tohru's memory loss. While he explained, Yuki didn't say a word. But Shigure knew his heart had to be breaking and he knew that he was blaming himself. After a long silence, Yuki glanced at Shigure,

"So she doesn't remember anyone or the curse? Yuki said, exasperated.

"It appears so. But that's not to say that she won't ever regain her memories again. It may take a very long time to recover all of them, according to Hatori. We were worried the most about her wound, but she seems to be very tough. Our main goal for the next few weeks is to not upset her, especially with the news of her mom's death. I don't know how we'll avoid that topic though, considering she keeps asking about her."

"She doesn't remember that either?" Yuki stared out the window at his reflection. "Damn him." He muttered.

After a few minutes of driving through the woods, Shigure and Yuki got out of the car. The full moon was even higher in the sky as they trudged through the bushes, looking for any sign of Kyo or Akito. Suddenly, Shigure stopped and sniffed the air. "I smell both of them! Be ready for anything because there is also the scent of blood in the air," he exclaimed.

They both tensed up as they followed the scent, waiting to see what Akito had planned for them. The trees swayed with every breath of wind, dancing to an eerie song, which penetrated the forest. To Yuki, the woods seemed desperate, as if they were alive and seeking some sort of companionship from him. The branches on the trees reached and tried to touch them as they walked deeper in the thick of the woods. Yuki struggled to break free from their grasp as they attached themselves to his legs, pulling him away from Shigure. `Has Akito enchanted this forest, or am I just going crazy,' he thought. `That stupid cat had better be okay.'

A sudden rustle from behind Yuki, startled him and interrupted his thoughts. He discovered that his earlier travels through the woods had slowed him down immensely. One moment he was standing next to Shigure, and the next he found that everything had turned completely pitch-black. He reached out to grab anything he could; but in an instant, he found both his arms and legs pinned to the ground. He felt an icy breath blowing in his ear, piercing his eardrums. Instantly knew who it was, there was no doubt.

"How dare you! You've defied me for the last time! Did you forget that I am the head of this house? Did you really think that you could confess to her and she would not pay the ultimate price? You should remember that while you are cursed, you belong to no one else except for I. It's your fault she was hurt, just as I told Kana. You should have learned your lesson from Hatori's blindness."

Akito's words sickened him.

"You do not own me. She accepts me for who and what I am…"

Akito's sinister laugh broke in before he could finish,

"But I killed her… how does that feel? It probably feels like I feel every day, cold and empty. Ah but wait, I'm sorry, did you not know that I killed her, or…" he paused, "I guess she didn't die then, did she? I see, well I'll just have to do a much better job next time. She's much stronger then I thought."

"Akito, why do you torture us? When we can be happy?" he said as he struggled to free himself from Akito's ice-cold hands.

"Why? Because if I am not allowed to be happy, then neither should any other cursed being. Just remember that none of this would have ever happened if Hatori had listened to my order and erased her memory. He will be next for defying my order. You might want to relay that message to him that next time you see him. Oh, and tell Shigure I will never forgive him for his betrayal."

With that last word, Akito shoved Yuki's face in the dirt, causing him to inhale dirt and mud.

"See, you're still helpless and afraid. It's very sad indeed. Even when love is at stake, you can do nothing to me." Yuki could sense that Akito was taking great pleasure in torturing him; he always had ever since they were small.

"Oh and just one more thing to remember…" as he took out a knife and stabbed Yuki in the leg. "While I may not be able to kill you, I can hurt everyone you love. You might want to think about that before confessing your feelings to another girl."

A mingling of Yuki's screams and Akito's laughter echoed through the forest.

*************

With a jolt, Tohru sat upright in her bed.

"Oww…" she mumbled, as she sat rubbing her side. The room was completely dark and silent. When she heard another voice, it made her jump once again.

"Are you okay Tohru?" A sleepy-eyed Hatori asked her, switching on the light.

"Ano… Hatori-san right? I thought I heard screaming. It just frightened me."

"Ah, it was probably just the wind. You've had a stressful day, you should get some sleep."

"You're probably right. Did Shigure-san leave?"

"Yes, he had to take care of some business. He should return shortly. Now, go to sleep."

She looked down at her bandaged wound and winced. Her face turned a shade of scarlet, "Uh, I'm sorry, but my side really hurts. Can you help me please?"

Without a word, Hatori got up and braced her by her shoulders, slowly helping her lay down on her bed.

"Arigato Hatori-san" she whispered as she her eyes closed.

"Dooitashimashita." Hatori whispered back.

He stared at her for a moment and thought about the last few years of his life. How it had changed since he met her! She always brightened every room and even made him feel more human. She gave him hope that he too might love again. Of all the times he wished he were not cursed, he had never wished for it more than at this moment. He wanted one, single embrace from the person who had melted his seemingly cold heart. But he knew that wishing would do no good though: he was cursed forever.

With his last thought, he reached over and touched her bruised face. She stirred slowly, which quickly made him move his hand away. Unable to resist, he slowly bent down and gave her a small but heartfelt kiss on her forehead. He was amazed that anyone could hurt someone so pure and innocent. Akito was indeed a very sick man.

`Could he be saved? Does he even deserve it?' he wondered. `Either way, I hope she remembers us soon. I think everyone will be devastated if she doesn't." He sighed and sat down on the chair next to her bed. His eyelids soon were heavy as he drifted off into a cozy sleep. He dreamt of Kana, which had been the topic of most of his dreams lately, or at least since he had known Tohru.

As soon as he had fallen asleep, Tohru's eyes popped open. Completely confused, She brought her hand to her forehead for a brief second and touched the spot where he had kissed her. Her vision became blurry as her tears started to well up. Before another thought entered her mind, she went to sleep with un-cried tears lurking in her eyes.

Her dreams were not as cozy as Hatori's though. They had become more frightening than real life. She constantly heard an eerie screaming, which was always crying her name. She was always wailing out his name in return. But before she reached him, everything turned dark red and she felt an incredible pain like no other. And following was always a sinister laugh and a hideous smile. `Will I ever know who I am?' she pondered in every dream. The answer he always gave was, "Not while I live and breath. You are doomed."

* To be continued! *