Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Prison ❯ The Crime ( Chapter 1 )

"The Crime"

A beautiful evening had snuck up on Nami on her way home from work. She worked odd jobs around town, mostly to help out her sister who was working full-time to support them both. She thought about how she could balance her schedule since school had recently started. Although she was tired from the overload of school and work, she wasn't in a hurry to get home that night. It was a lovely fall evening so she decided to take the more scenic way home. Besides, she wasn't in the mood to bother with her sister.

"Looks like it might be a cold night," she thought when a gust of wind ripped through her hair. She removed it from her face, annoyed by it's length. She quickly made a mental note to get a haircut soon. Still not regretting the route she had taken, Nami observed her surroundings curiously. She saw the sun hide behind the hills in the horizon, the trees swaying along the bank in the river, tall grass dancing to the beat of the wind, and a solitary young man sitting under a tree. He seemed to be purposely ignoring all of this.

"Sohma Yuki?" She called quietly, recognizing the boy from her school. He was two years younger than her, but she was very much aware of his popularity. She chuckled at the thought that he had his own fan club.

"Daishi-san.. what are you doing here?" Yuki turned to face her, a bit aggravated that he couldn't be alone anymore. Of course, he didn't let her see that. He had to be nice just in case she was one of the fan girls hoping to win his heart tonight. She was pretty, he told himself, but many of the girls that threw themselves at him were. He wanted something more; someone he could be himself around. Really, truly himself. He thought of Tohru and then immediately thought of all the things that kept him from being closer to her. Too many things to possibly count. He frowned.

"I was just taking the longer way home today," Nami replied, getting the distinct impression he wanted to be alone. She considered the possibility that Yuki thinks she's there to claim him like many of the other girls do and wondered if she should just leave. He looked so alone, though.

"It's pretty late. Did you just get out of school?" Yuki's seemingly interested tone made Nami deem that maybe he could use some company.

"Iie, I work after school," she said as she knelt down next to him. "Although, I could probably be asking you the same question."

"Well," Yuki looked up past the lake, "I come here when I need to get away from the... family."

"I know how that can be," Nami said knowingly. "I live alone with my older sister and we argue all the time. Do you ever fight with your siblings?"

"Constantly," he answered as he remembered throwing Kyou into a tree earlier that day. A smirk appeared on his face.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you enjoy it!" Nami jokingly elbowed Yuki's side upon seeing the smile. He laughed quietly and hoped that she wouldn't get any closer to him. He was particularly paranoid that night, seeing as he had to dodge several extra hugs that day.

Suddenly, a very spacey look appeared on Yuki's face. How little she really knows, he thought. He just wanted to shake her, and tell her exactly how he did not enjoy his family, and his curse, and everything else that made his life a living Hell. He wished she could just get it, and maybe she would be the first person ever to sympathize with him.

"What are you looking at?" Nami asked, turning her attention to where he was staring.

"The moon," he answered blankly.

"Making a wish?" Nami asked, sweetly. Yuki had to keep his jaw from dropping. That was a little too close. A quick thought came to him that she's psychic, like Tohru's friend. Maybe it was Hana-chan in disguise? Alright, that's where he drew the line. He was getting a bit too paranoid for his own good. He shrugged it off.

Yuki turned and smiled at her, thinking about what she just said. "What makes you say that?"

"You had a wishful look on your face, like you were hoping for something that's too far away," Nami answered.

"I guess you could say that.. but aren't you supposed to wish upon stars?"

Nami laughed. "I guess so, but then again it doesn't really matter once you make the wish."

"You don't think wishes can come true?"

"Of course I do. I believe it with all my heart.. but you have to make them come true. Stars don't grant wishes to people who don't want it bad enough to work for it." Nami paused and looked up at the sky again. Yuki kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to say something else. Suddenly, she pointed to the sky, "There's one! Hurry make a wish!"

Yuki abruptly turned his attention to where she was pointing and saw a star shooting across the sky. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again he saw her smiling strangely at him.

"What did you wish for?" She asked, a bit amused that he took it so seriously.

He looked down on the ground and didn't say anything for a while. He had wished to just be normal. Everything would be so much easier if he could enjoy human contact without having to be on guard the whole time. He knew he'd be happier if he didn't have this huge secret to carry around with him all the time. A small sigh escaped him.

Finally, he turned to her and said, "I wished that I could stay here forever." It was a somewhat edited version of his original wish but he figured that if he didn't have to go home, he wouldn't need to be part of the family. He couldn't tell her what he <really> wished for.

"Yuki-kun, I have to apologize because I think I ruined your wish." After obviously having caught his attention, she finished, "I wished that you would walk me home tonight."

Yuki laughed. He had actually <laughed>, finding her response amusing. Then he realized the situation he had found himself in. Unexpectedly, he had enjoyed Nami's company that evening. What surprised him even more is that he was very willing to walk her home and talk with her. He realized that she would have probably stopped to talk to him even if he wasn't Sohma Yuki.

"In that case, it looks like you won't have to work too hard to have this wish granted," Yuki said as he stood up and held out a hand for her to take.

"You're not living up to your reputation. You're supposed to break hearts, not grant wishes," she countered as she easily got back on her feet.

As they began to walk towards the main road, a hidden branch tripped Nami. Yuki, unaware of exactly what he was doing, impulsively caught her in his arms. Moments later, Nami held a small rat in the palm of her hand with Yuki's clothes draped over her shoulder. Stunned, she plopped down on the ground with the rat clutched tightly in her grasp. She held it tighter in fear it will escape.

"Nami, please let go," the rat begged. Nami shrieked and dropped the rat violently to the ground. It picked itself up, looked up at her and announced bitterly, "That hurt."

"Yuki?!?" She blinked in disbelief.

"Wait here. Don't go anywhere. I'll explain everything in a moment," the rat assured to her.

"I don't understand... this is so.." Nami said but was interrupted as Yuki transformed back to his human form and scurried behind a tree to get dressed.

"Nami-kun, looks like I can't grant your wish after all. I know it's late but I'm going to have to ask you to come to my home instead. I'll have some explaining to do to Shigure," Yuki gestured casually for her to follow him after emerging from behind the tree. On their way down the main road, Yuki told her all about the Sohma family secret and the curse. He figured he should satisfy her curiosity until her memory was undoubtedly erased.

"That's unbelievable," Nami said dumbfounded. She listened carefully to Yuki's story and saying she was shocked would be an understatement.

"You're offended, aren't you?" Yuki hung his head as Akito's words returned to him.

"Iie, not at all," Nami reassured him. "I just didn't ever think something like this was possible. I'm still thinking that I may have fallen asleep at work and this is just a dream. I mean, all those physics and anatomy classes and then I find out something like this. It's just so.."

"You are offended," Yuki said softly as the wind wrapped his hair around his face.

"I think it's amazing. Why would I be offended?" Nami asked, a bit puzzled as to why he's so determined about this.

"I've just always been told that people won't ever accept me like this."

"Who told you something like that?" Nami asked, beginning to think that maybe Yuki's life wasn't as perfect as everyone thought.

Yuki hesitated but thought that this may be a very good opportunity. Who better to tell your secrets to than someone whose memory will be indisputably erased? He suddenly felt very selfish for using her simply as a means of venting his anger at the curse and family. That feeling quickly passed as he reassured himself that he wouldn't really be hurting her.

"Akito-san," he said finally. "He's the head of the family. I used to live with him when I was little."

"Why would he tell you something like that?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wanted to break my spirit or maybe he just enjoyed watching me cry. I lived with him because he managed to convince me that no one would ever love me. He didn't love me," Yuki replied in a dark tone that Nami didn't realize he had in him.

"What a horrible person," Nami said flatly. Yuki was actually taken aback by this. He didn't expect her to be so forward and.. honest, was it? He briefly entertained the thought how different Tohru and Nami are. Tohru would never say anything bad about anyone, not even Akito. Maybe that's why Nami's comment shocked him so much. He wasn't used to such.. opinion? He wasn't quite sure what to call it.

If Yuki could think back now to why he did this he probably wouldn't be able to think of a single good reason. Maybe he did it to evoke more response from her. Maybe he wanted her to say the horrible truths that Tohru would just smile at. It was a freak thought; a mutation of his regular state of mind. At any other moment than that one he would revel in Tohru's gentle smile, but just for that one freak moment he wanted the cold, awful reality. He suddenly started reciting all the terrible things that Akito has done to the family. Everyone from Hatori to Kisa. He spoke as if the words were memorized from thinking them so much.

After hearing this there were so many things Nami could say, but none of them came to her. "Yuki...," she began but he interrupted her.

"It's alright, Nami-kun. You don't have to say anything." He spoke as if he had read her mind. Eek, maybe he did read her mind. Nami began panicking and thought that if he had the ability to turn into a rat and then turn back, what makes her so sure he's not psychic? What if he's reading her mind right now? A drop of sweat appeared on her forehead and she desperately tried to divert her attention to something else. Bunnies, she thought. Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies. Then the thought of Yuki turning into a bunny came to her and she let out a small shriek. Yuki didn't seem to notice. They walked silently the rest of the way.

Shigure greeted them upon their arrival and cheerfully exclaimed, "Yuki-kun! Who is this lovely girl you brought with you?" He became giddy at the thought of high school girls.

"Akito's next victim," Yuki said coldly. Shigure's grin faded instantly, and a drop of sweat appeared on Nami's forehead.

"Ne? Yuki-kun, don't be so scary! Come in. Sit down," he gestured Nami towards a chair. "Now, what happened?"

"This is Daishi Nami, she tripped and I caught her," Yuki explained. "This is Shigure. He lives here." Shigure faked a frown at Yuki, pretending to be displeased by that comment.

"Nice to meet you," Nami smiled but felt a bit out of place doing so among the general gloomy feeling of the room. Shigure's frown immediately reverted back to his default smile. He giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Pleasure is all mine." Shigure took her hand and kissed it. She liked his playful approach and felt more comfortable around him.

"Perv," Yuki mumbled.

"Maa, Yuki-kun! Why so serious?" A sweat drop appeared on his forehead as he tried to lift their spirits. "There's no problem! We'll just take her over to Ha-san, erase her memory and all is well!"

"I don't want my memory erased," Nami objected. Yuki turned to look at her, too stunned to say anything at all. He had really wished she told him that before he spouted his life story to her.

"Well you see, we don't have much of a choice. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have you come around here more often.. believe me.. but Akito can be a very, very stubborn man," Shigure tried to reason.

"Then take me to him. The least I can do is talk to him."

Needless to say, both Shigure and Yuki were struck dead by her decisiveness. Yuki tried to change her mind, "You don't understand. Akito is violent and..."

"I understand perfectly," Nami persisted calmly, "you explained it all. How he had treated you as a child and how he'd traumatized all the members of the family."

"You explained all that?" Shigure whispered to Yuki and narrowed his eyes.

"I won't allow it," Yuki insisted.

"You know, there's no harm in trying. Akito can be reasonable at times.. somewhat. He let Tohru stay, didn't he? If he's in a good mood and if we ask nicely enough, he might just go for it. Besides, I'm sure he'd consider it commendable even if he won't agree," Shigure reasoned, taking Nami's side. It was a lot easier for him to speak this way than it was for Yuki. Shigure visited Akito often while Yuki shivered violently when in his presence.

Nami looked at Yuki and nodded her head. She felt brave now and wanted to go before she lost her courage. "Onegai?" She said.

"Yuki-kun! Look how adorable," Shigure said in a baby voice, pinching Nami's cheek.

"I'll take her," Yuki insisted very suddenly, "he'll go easier on her if I'm there. He always says he wants me around more often, right?"

"Well, right but," Shigure stuttered, "it'll be perfectly alright if you don't want to go."

"I'm going," he persisted.

"Demo.. demo.." Shigure blinked at him. Before he could find the right words to object, Yuki was well on his way out of the house. Nami looked at Shigure and shrugged.

On the way to the Sohma compound, Yuki, Nami and Shigure remained mostly silent. Yuki had been trying to gather all his bravery for the meeting with Akito. Nami had been afraid but felt that she was in good hands. Shigure, on the other hand.... well, Shigure was in his own world.