Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Here Without You ❯ Gone Without a Trace ( Chapter 1 )

Tohru Honda was walking home from work, like usual, and she was humming the tune Momiji wrote himself. She was in a fairly good mood tonight because of the beautiful night sky and the perfect temperature. Nights like these made her remember good times, especially those wonderful times with Kyo, Shigure, Yuki, and the rest of the Sohma family. She walked, smiling, carrying her school bag.

Someone chuckled quietly in the shadows; "Tonight... you're mine until you die..."

Tohru, hearing the light chuckling, paused and looked around. "Hello," she asked, "is anyone there?"

In a blink of an eye, someone jumped out of the shadows and Tohru screamed. She shut her eyes tightly as she was beaten. Near unconsciousness, she opened her eyes halfway. "What... why are you doing this to me, --"

"I'm worried," Yuki said, "Miss Honda hasn't been home at all since this morning."

"She's probably just dawdling..." Kyo replied, sounding unconcerned.

"At night?"

"Maybe I should go look for her," Shigure suggested.

"You stay here," Kyo and Yuki replied in unison.

Shigure whined in a rather high pitched voice: "Why don't you trust me?"

"Because you're a pervert!"

"I would never dream of touching Tohru or thinking of Tohru in that way! Why do you suggest such accusations!"

"It's true, that's why!" Kyo snapped.

"It is not...!"

Kyo and Yuki stalked out the door, in search for their precious Tohru.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm..." Tohru's attacker chuckled.

Tohru awoke, surrounded by darkness, and the only light was the high window twenty-five feet above her. A tall, thin figure stood in the corner opposite of her, obviously plotting something against Tohru, Uo, Hana, or the Sohma family. Tohru struggled a little.

"Calm yourself, Tohru," he said in his devious, monotone voice.

Chills ran up Tohru's spine at the sound of his voice. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I think I'll just leave you here for a while... Poor Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure are going to be worried sick when they find out that their precious Tohru is missing." He stepped forward a little, but the light only shined upon his mouth, which was smirking at her.

Tohru became worried for her friends; "What are you going to do to them?"

"Slowly torture them with pain... and show them that I'm much more precious that you."

"Who are you?" Tohru was unable to recognize this man's voice.

"Little, precious, special Tohru... don't you remember me?"

"Are you--"

"That's right, I'm--"

"Miss Honda," Yuki called out, wandering the streets.

Kyo came rushing to Yuki, coming out of the building that Tohru worked at. "They said she left work at the same time as usual." What if she got hurt? Kyo thought this to himself. What if she's injured somewhere? What if some person jumped her! We have to find her...

Kyo and Yuki began running, taking the way Tohru always did. They went down the road, along the path, to the fort, and through the forest back to Shigure's house. There was no trace. They hoped she had come home while they were looking for her. They walked inside, and saw Shigure waiting.

"Did you find her," he asked.

"There's no sign of her... not even a damn piece of paper or a ribbon or anything..." Kyo replied.

"I'm worried about Miss Honda, we should call the police," Yuki suggested.

"What if she's with her two friends," Shigure pondered aloud.

Yuki rushed to the phone and dialed Uo's number. "Hello," he said, holding the phone to his ear, "is Miss Uotani there?" Pause. "Thank you." Pause. "Hello, Miss Uotani? This is Yuki Sohma." Pause. "Is Tohru with you?" Pause. "Oh, no, there is no problem. She's probably working overtime tonight. Thank you, and good night." Yuki hung up the phone and waited a few moments until he dialed Hana's number. "Hello, is Miss Hanajima there?" Pause. "Yes, I'll hold for a moment." Pause. "I apologize for waking you, Miss Hanajima, but is Tohru with you?" Pause. "Nothing's wrong, really. Tohru's probably working overtime tonight, thank you." Pause. "Thank you, good night."

"Well!" Kyo exclaimed.

"Neither of them have seen Tohru since school."

"Shit!"

"Where could Miss Honda be?"

"You can't go find her now, it's too late at night. You won't be able to find her in the dark," Shigure put his arms in the opposite sleeves, trying to look brilliant.

"What if she was attacked," shouted Kyo.

"The route she takes is perfectly safe. She's a strong girl, she can take care of herself."

"She's not us, she can't take care of herself like that!"

"Calm down, Kyo-kyo."

"Don't call me Kyo-kyo!"

"Shigure's right," Yuki admitted, "we should look for Miss Honda in the morning."

Kyo grunted loudly in frustration: "Fine!" He, then, stormed up the stairs and went into his room.

"Good night, Shigure." Yuki left upstairs to his own room for sleep.

"We'll find her, don't worry," he said quietly, leaving to his office.

The next morning, Tohru awoke on a plain bed with a metal frame, one pillow supporting her head. She blinked and looked around. There was a small table, a sink, a toilet, and a chair. She sat up and the thin, white blanket covering her fell off her chest. She studied the room carefully, but her studying was interrupted by a dark figure walking in.

The figure asked in a voice that sounded humorous, "Awake now, hmm?"

"When can I go home," Tohru asked politely.

"When their hearts collapse and they come crawling to me... and when they forget about you!"

"Please, let me go home..."

"To what? More troubles with Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure?"

"They don't cause me trouble... I'm happy living with them."

"Happy? You cry in when everyone else is asleep, you cry when you're bathing, hoping no one hears you. When the others are out, you cry to yourself, trapped in your own thoughts."

"How... how do you know all of this?" She managed to get that question out. How could he know? Was he stalking her?

"It's what the simple mind of an innocent, little girl is like. They pretend to be happy for the people around them, but when they're alone, they're miserable." There was a pause and he walked up to Tohru. "I can make you happy... forever..." He stroked her cheek, feeling her shiver from his touch.

"Please, I want to go home..."

"You won't be going home for a while, Tohru," he smirked. "You'll have to wait... wait a long, long time..."

"Don't leave me here!" Tohru cried, watching him leave.

"I have business to attend to... your breakfast will be coming to you in a short while."

"Don't, Akito!"

He shut the door behind him, chuckling evilly.