Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Punishment ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 7 )

Punishment
Chapter 7: Revelations

       With a gasp, Saki shot up in her bed, the conceptual dream still reeling through her mind. The moment she opened her eyes, her brain begged for her to return them to their closed positions. The dark room around her wasn't exactly a welcoming sight in her state; the beams of passing cars outside the nearly drawn curtains caused curious shadows to creep across the walls, and the walls (which she knew perfectly well were stable) seemed to lean in on her, as if they were going to collapse any moment.

       She threw back her thin duvet and slid out of her bed to receive a slight jolt from her warm feet hitting the cold floor. She was much too worked up to find her slippers, which were usually left not far from the foot of her bed. Instead she slunk past her door, careful not to wake Megumi, and headed down the stairs.

       "Mindful now," she whispered to herself. "One step at a time." With each step, pieces of her dream seemed to come back to her in blinding flashes. The hands of the two people she admired the most, both pointing in different directions. Climbing up a mountain with unimaginable heights. The souls of those who had failed before her floating away into the limitless sky. Two young men chasing towards a common goal. The sight of her close friend falling into the darkness with a man who obviously loved her to his fullest abilities. The uncertainty of it all....

       Finally, she reached the bottom step. She flicked on a lamp and curled onto the old, black leather sofa. Only when she noticed that her legs were becoming chilled against the naturally cold fabric did she realize that she had gone to bed in her school uniform the night before. Her shirt was in a wrinkly state, but that was the least of her worries.

       She flipped on the television set with no intention of watching anything in particular. There were only reruns playing at that time of morning anyway. One of those corny reality programs appeared on the screen, a program she recognized as one that her mother watched often. Groups of teenagers were given life jackets and had to go white water rafting as a challenging race in a survival gameshow. The pace was too fast - Hana watched as one group couldn't keep up to the others. Her face remained uninterested. 'Even in the plastic world of television people can't pull through. I suppose that is life.'

       She pushed the 'off' button; this brief stint with television reminding her of why she never watched the blasted thing. So pointless. She looked down at the finger which had stopped the infernal machine. The polish on her nails has long since worn away, and she had never felt the need to reapply. She had felt so safe with Tohru and Arisa that she hadn't felt the need.

       However, the closeness that she had experienced with Haru, she decided, was beyond what she wanted. She couldn't accept what had happened, and the difference in his electric waves. It was... startling. She should have fought back from his quick kiss with a shock, but she had done nothing. It was her sin, and her punishment was to stay away from such intimacy. Haru had surely added to her punishment, tugging at her emotions as he had.

       Rummaging around a small lace purse she kept in the hallway, she pulled out a familiar bottle. With lightening fast strokes which came from what seemed like years of practice, the unapproachable dark colour had been reapplied.

       "Perfect."

Do you feel the same again? I've returned to the within.

I'm trying hard to make amends for your failings and your faults.

       Nearing the end of her vacation, her family needed groceries and her youngest sister wanted to go for a walk, so Saki used the late evening to do both. With her youngest sister Naru's hand in her own, they walked slowly down the street at Naru's pace. Naru seemed chipper that morning, singing a song softly to herself, looking up at Saki every once in a while to make sure that her sister didn't mind. Saki could tell that her little sister was still a little frightened of her, and sometimes looked at the billowing black dress Saki wore with apprehensive awe.

       "We'll go to the gas station to pick up a few necessities." Saki said simply as Naru nodded. Normally, she would have gone to the market downtown, but she wanted to see Arisa. She knew that she would be getting off work at the station within the next...(she looked at her watch)...twenty minutes.

       Saki watched the sidewalk seemingly scroll beneath her feet. She absently counted the number of cracks in the cement as her sister's quiet singing voice and energy melded into her surroundings. It was very peaceful.

       That is, until a recognizable wave formation reached her body. She could feel it in her skin that a Sohma was getting closer to her. She looked up from her pleasant crack-counting activity and gazed in the direction of the troublesome waves.

       She knew it. It was Hatsuharu. He caught her glance and nodded solemnly, continuing on his way coolly. She nodded back vaguely, turning her attention back to the sidewalk. But she had lost count because she had noticed something different about him. He was carrying a white plastic bag of groceries full of fresh vegetables which poked out the top. The contents of the bag hadn't startled her, of course. It was the hand which was starkly visible against the bag - a hand with unconventionally coloured dark polish.

       She couldn't ignore it. Was he feeling regret for what he had done outside so he decided to wear the sign of sin she had grown accustomed to wearing herself? She couldn't remember if she had told him the meaning behind black polish or not....

       No, she had to be reading too much into it. Surely, it was just his unique sense of style.

       Nevertheless, she couldn't help but wonder just what he could be thinking beneath that intriguing hair of his.

       She had expected his energy to fall from her radar quickly, she could feel that he had paused in his steps. "Saki-chan," he said with little force or emotion. The suffix still seemed inappropriate to her, but she turned around to face him, startling her sister who hadn't heard his voice.

       She didn't reply, simply watching him for a moment.

       "You shouldn't look at the ground when you walk. You're going to miss out on too much. Isn't it beautiful?" He pointed up ambiguously, and Saki followed his finger to the brilliantly coloured sky. Naru tugged on her hand impatiently, but Saki continued to stare. The sky was tinted a lovely pink from the barely setting sun, only interrupted by the soft purple cumulonimbus clouds. Upon realizing that Hana wasn't going to listen to her pleas, her sister stared up at the clouds to discover what the visual treat was.

       As the minutes passed by, the pink started to fade into a darker shade of mauve. The contrast between the clouds and their backdrop lessened and became a part of one another. Such a simple spectacle was so magnificent - she felt her soul lift and fill with life. It was wonderful. The only two things which distracted from its beauty was the unappreciative sister pulling on her arm and the tall, lifeless skyscrapers which surrounded the scene like a picture frame; a natural event was still able to be seen within the manufactured chaos of city life.

       She heard his footsteps walking away, but not before he said, "It begs to be appreciated. Do you see?"

       That wise old flower vender said that once, it seems like it was so long ago, Saki remembered. A revelation. It was true. Appreciate the little things.

It must come like the sun, a revelation.

Another glimpse please, a revelation.

               Appreciate me. 

          ;     You can see me? I can feel your waves judging my true self. 

        &nb sp;     I don't deserve to see you or the waves of your mentality. 

       &nbs p;      You shouldn't be afraid of me, I am just like you. 

        &nbs p;     A curse? I can feel it. I want to know it, I want to share it. 

          ;     I won't burden you by finding out, it's your family secret? 

        & nbsp;     I say I won't find out, but my heart begs to know more. 

        &nb sp;     There's so much more behind your eyes. 

        &nb sp;     I want to see. I don't deserve to see the truth! 

        &n bsp;     The darkness is just a mask, my persona. Is it yours? 

        &n bsp;     To keep you away at the farthest distance. 

         ;      I will try my best to do this favour, to stay away from you. 

        &nbs p;     Appreciate my generosity. 

       &nb sp;      Appreciate my kindness. 

         ;      Appreciate the way that I will stay behind you. 

        &nbs p;     Not beside you. 

        &nbs p;     Appreciate me fully, even if you cannot understand me. 

          ;     Let me run away. 

        &nb sp;     Please, why don't you let me leave you all alone? 

        &n bsp;     I cannot help but think of you deep inside. 

        & nbsp;     I want to feel your waves once again. 

        &n bsp;     Sometimes I wish these waves would betray me.

       - Saki

In this life, it makes you wonder.

You feel no shame to come undone.

      Arisa snickered and stuck out her tongue lightheartedly as Saki came up to the till with a mature expression on her face as she demanded (in an attempt at a masculine voice) that she could purchase a carton of the strongest cigars behind the glass counter, mimicking the words of an old man who had been in line before her. "Get outta here!" Arisa couldn't help but laugh, only sad that the old man had already left and couldn't hear his own gruff words coming from the mouth of a young highschool girl.

       "What are you doing here?"

       Saki lifted a carton of milk and some supplies for packing lunches. "Food." she answered simply. "Is your shift over soon? You can come over after if you want. Vacation is terribly boring."

       "I'm feeling it too, I'll definitely be there." Arisa grinned as she bagged Saki's merchandise. "Geez, it seems like the same people come to this station everyday."

       "I'm always glad to break the mould of the same old, same old." Saki nodded, taking her merchandise off the counter and passing one of the treats to Naru to entertain her until Arisa's shift was over.

       After her work, the two older girls held the hands of Naru between them and walked back to Saki's house. Naru was glad to be home and went to play with her older siblings in the family room.

       Saki led Arisa up to her room up the stairs and down the narrow hallway. Her door was second from the end in the hall. She flicked on the hallway lights as she passed the switch. Another door in the hallway, the one on the end, creaked open. A man walked out of it, dressed in a cheap knock off of a brand-name suit. Saki slowed her steps, moving closer to one side of the hall to allow room for him to pass. He carried a leather suitcase in his right hand, a pile of loose leaf papers in the other. He flipped through the pile, not looking up as he passed by them. He did not make an effort to communicate, and neither did Saki. She turned her head away from both her father and Arisa, and for the second instance that day, lowered her head to stare at the floor.

       The atmosphere was tense.

        That's right. What am I thinking, brining Arisa home? I'm supposed to keep everyone away, but instead I'm drawing them closer to my life and my problems. I've got to remain steadfastly indifferent, apathetic, and solid.

       It should be easy, yet why can I not break away? This hurts.

       Arisa raised an eyebrow once he was out of sight. Saki shook her head and continued down the hall, and Arisa did not pursue it. She would learn eventually.

       "Guess what I've got on my pocket." Arisa said, one hand emerging from her pocket with two pieces of paper.

       "Information?"

  ;      "That's a very vague answer, but yes, information from Tohru. One for me, one for you." She passed one of the slips to Saki, and she unfolded it.

       "Invitations." On the paper listed Tohru's new address and a request for them to come over because she had a confession to make. "We certainly must go then. And since we are invited, there will surely be snacks."

       "Yeah. Let's hope the confession isn't something too serious."

So you want to be my friend, heaven help you if you fall.

All this time it's made me wonder.

Do you feel no shame to come undone?

      "Is it alright for me to still be home? I know you don't want to tell them that you are living here with us until later."

       "Don't worry, there's still a lot of time before they arrive. Shigure's on the back porch eating some salad I prepared, and Kyou-kun's still in the backyard training."

       There was silence at the mention of Kyou's name.

       "...Are you upset with me, Yuki-kun?"

       "Not upset with you, Honda-san. I was thinking about lunch. I just....don't understand how you can let him push you around like that. If you put your heart into making leek soup and he says he hates it, you shouldn't just whip up a new batch of soup to suit his fancy."

       "Eh? Why not? He hates leeks, and I should have known better. I want to take care of him...I love cooking! Don't worry! If anything, he's helping me learn more about him! I want to learn more about Kyou-kun and Yu-"

       "It's always him," the voice said softly.

       "No, everyone here in this house! I care very much about each of you."

       I hate that you care so much about him. How you ask 'Is the food alright?' to him, but since I always smile at you when you serve it to me, you don't ask me if it's fine. I hate feeling this way.

       "I hear a male voice." Arisa said as she stepped up onto the wooden step in front of the sliding front door. Arisa nearly panicked, remembering the harsh words of Tohru's cousin: "You can't keep my cousin on such a short leash. She's out living with some men out in the middle of the forest, living it up... or didn't she tell you?" This couldn't be the confession Tohru was talking about?

       "They're fighting?" I feel a Sohma. Saki slid open the door and called hello.

       A sudden quiet explosion was heard and a small white rat scurried in a straight path out the door. Saki was enthralled by the small animal for a moment and watched it disapeer into a shrubbery.

       "Don't just stand their letting the cool air out." Arisa said, pushing Saki gently into the hallway.

       "Oh yes...right." But that rat seemed so human.

       They both sat at the low table which was half-prepared. "You guys came earlier than I expected! What a welcome surprise!"

       "Ano- Tohru. Why is there men's clothing right there?"

       Tohru swiftly picked up the mysterious male clothing which lay on the floor in the kitchen in panic. "Oh these? I was just doing the laundry when you came in! Sorry about this mess! I wasn't finished preparing dinner for us yet and -" a noise at the back door was heard, "- please excuse me for a moment!"

       She rushed out of the room, nearly crashing into Shigure. "I'm so glad that you guys have finally been able to visit! Please eat as much as you'd like!" she called back to her guests, hinting to Shigure that he needed to leave. She whispered lowly, "please take these clothes to Yuki-kun, he's outside somewhere and he's going to need it. I can't let him catch a cold."

       "You'll be a wonderful wife one day," he said dreamily. This sounded particularly wrong because of his attachments with the late Kyoko.

       "What did you say, Tohru-kun?" Hana asked dryly, sensing another Sohma. Something was very strange about all this.

       "Coming!"

   ;     Tohru rejoined them at the table with the remaining food, smiling. "Let's eat!"

       They chatted while munching on fresh fruit and laughed between bites. They were only about ten minutes into their meal when a loud bang was heard at the backdoor and solid footsteps.

       "Tohru, can you get me a clean towel from the linen closet? I forgot mine!" an almost angry sounding male voice floated into to the room.

       Her face lit up. "Ah, sure, Kyou-kun!" She jumped up out of her seat and then stopped in mid-motion, realizing that she hadn't told Kyou-kun that they had arrived.

       He walked into the kitchen and was startled himself. "Ah -"

       "Kyon-kyon? Why here?" Arisa gasped.

       "Sohma Kyou lives here." Saki filled in the blanks of the puzzle. "And those clothes from before, they were very much Sohma Yuki's style."

       "Ah, I was going to tell you after desert!" Tohru said, with tears in her eyes. "This is all so bad! I've kept secrets from everyone, but I wasn't sure that Shigure would want people to know I was here and...and."

       "Hey, Tohru, don't worry about it." Arisa rose and gave her a playful hug. "It's alright. Just tell us what's going on, and it'll be okay."

       Unshared values with Tohru's family and Shigure's insistence that she should stay with him because of his previously budding relationship with her mother Kyoko had led her to her happy home with the Sohma family. Tohru was happy, and only worried about protecting the ones she now shared such an intimate space with.

I'm catastrophically content; got a witness, he knows all.

To come undone, I feel no shame.

       How quickly a vacation goes by, and how slow a school day seems.

       While elevating to class 2D, a second year homeroom, along with the members of her old homeroom, she remained in a first year math class Sigh, how depressing. She noticed that the fanatical members of the "We Love Yuki" club now wore golden pins on their collars, true symbols of their adoration.

       There was one thing that she believed she would appreciate in a class of a lower grade: they wouldn't know who Yuki was. She got the surprise of her life when she walked in the class to see about half of the girls wearing the golden medallions, gleaming in the light of the window. Ugh, and so it begins. Already? They can't possibly know a thing about him yet; truly this school's society runs on appearances. They're disgusting. She looked down at her nails: still black as night.

       So many watchful eyes. She noticed right away that people were staring at her. She could tell by the waves in the air around her that the feeling of hatred wasn't in her imagination. She sat down in the second last row so that the majority of the people could not look at her unless they turned around in their seats.

       "Hey, Ahiru-chan," Saki could hear a girl whisper to her friend. "Why does everyone have such a nasty face on? That isn't that Tohru girl Motoko told us about, is she?"

       "No, she doesn't match the description. She's not as weak looking, and her hair colour and makeup isn't dark like hers."

       Another girl looked at them as if they were idiots. "It's one of her friends, obviously!" She opened up a date organizer and flipped through her neatly recorded data. "Hanajima Saki, 2D, wielder of the electromagnetic force! Practically anti-social besides her bestfriends Honda Tohru and Uotani Arisa, she is surely 'boyfriendless'. Failed math last term due to her uncaring attitude. Hates light coloured things and teachers. Has been seen using a witch's broom to clean the driveway. Most likely has a pet rat as her familiar." Her list of information went on, each line becoming more absurd and unrealistic.

       Please let the bell ring soon before I have to do something about this. Please. Please. Please.

       "Wow! You're great at getting information quickly, Suzuki-chan!"

       Suzuki nodded, and added, "If you came to the meeting this morning in the girl's change room, you would have known that Electric Girl and The Yankee are our enemy Honda Tohru's fighting force! You all know that she is taking the Prince away from everyone! Public property." She nodded again.

       Bringing Tohru and Arisa into this; what is wrong with these girls? Saki was ready to stand up and give these girls a talk they wouldn't forget.

       "Definitely good to know! 'I dub thee She-Devil Electric Girl!'" Ahiru giggled. "That's what I will say to her."

       "Ehhh? How horrible!" A high pitched voice coming from a little boy resounded through the room. "That isn't something that should be praised. You guys are meanies!" A boy who unbelievably must have been only a year younger than she was joined the girls, clad in the female uniform.

       Something lightly hit her in the back of the head, and she spun around quickly to meet the face of the perpetrator. She had been watching so intently she hadn't noticed the waves of the mysterious Hatsuharu sitting in the desk behind her.

       "What are you waiting for? If they had been talking about me, they would have all been on the floor in pain by now." She stared at him incuriously; he wouldn't have suggested that if he had known about the child she had nearly killed not long ago by her waves. "You've got to defend yourself or you'll end up being walked over like Tohru," he said with a slightly joking tone in his voice. His face was as placid as ever.

       Just a small little zap to teach a lesson. It's okay, right? She looked at each of them as she used the smallest dose of her power as she could manage. Each girl was scared out of their wits and squealed, but were silenced by the bell.

       Saki bit one of her painted nails on her left hand without thinking, and later noticed that she had broken it.

All my life, it's made me wonder.

I feel no shame to come undone.

       Yuki and Tohru stood close by the front door of the school discussing new implementations for the vegetable garden, while Kyou 'hung out' in front of the school gate waiting for their usual group of walking home buddies. However, waiting for the two seemed to be an excruciating pain for him, as he had this sweeping scowl across his face.

       "What are you waiting for, carrot-top? Just confess to her already! It's obvious she's crazy about you - though the emotion probably rivals to the feelings she holds for Yuki. Just by seeing the little show you two put on in front of us earlier this week at your place when you came in the door. She practically needed two faces to hold that smile of hers, and it was all because of you." Arisa slapped him on the back. "'Atta boy!"

       Kyou jumped anxiously. "Where'd you get that idea?! Are you asking me to hurt you?" Kyou growled after being on the receiving end of a playful shove care of Arisa. He had never thought about fighting a girl before, but he knew that Arisa could probably pack a punch if she wanted to hurt him. There was no question, he would fight back if he provoked her enough, even with the chance of him transforming from being in such close contact. For sure, he decided, curling his fists at his sides, ready for them to spring should the need arise.

       "You're just too obvious, Kyon-kyon. If you're going to be all sulky whenever Tohru's alone with Yuki, you've got to confess and claim her for yourself. Then it'll be understandable that you'd be pissed that she's alone with some other guy."

       "When the hell did I become a suitable candidate, Yankee?" Kyou glared, thinking there must have been some sort of scheme behind all this. Where was Arisa going with this?

       Arisa's face softened. "Tohru needs somebody. And while Yuki is kinder, more handsome, and generally better boyfriend material...I see something good in you. Her eyes are different when she speaks to you. She needs someone to take care of too."

       "I don't need someone to take care of me!" He turned away. She had just insulted him - multiple times! This must just be a way to mock me! Damn Yankee! "And I don't need your advice."

Author Notes: Chapter 7; Completed June 20th 2004, Revised and Uploaded June 27th 2004.
Ah! This chapter was so hard to write! XX As I've said before, I've really restricted myself timewise. Lots more Tohru/Yuuki/Kyou romance subplot got into this chapter, and more slightly philosophical stuff in there. Also some poetry madness, whoo!  It depresses me that it took so long to get this chapter up, I'm so sorry! Thanks for your patience, and I hope you still remember the story up to this point! XD
Thank you all for your kind reviews! You're all wonderful hugglesquishes and Furuba plushies for all
Altered Excerpts from "Must Must" by The Tea Party; Fruits Basket characters to N.T. at Hana to Yume Comics