Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ When all Hope is Lost ❯ Grief is a Disease ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own them, but wouldn't it be wonderful if I did?

 

I used to believe in fairy tales. I thought that someday my prince would come and together we would overcome evil and live happily ever after. And for a while, reality seemed to coincide with these childish fantasies. I was caught up in the middle of an age-old curse with not one, but seven princes at my side and together we fought for something more precious than life. Freedom. We foolishly believed that we had a chance, that there was even the slightest possibility that we would someday be granted eternal happiness. We were naïve. I was naïve.

 

Akito granted Kyo an extension after graduation. He would get one more chance to either beat Yuki or beat the curse, both of which Akito knew were impossible. We celebrated. Kyo's temporary freedom gave us hope… but years passed and still we never found a way to break the curse. We lived in fear. We never knew when Akito would change his mind and order that Kyo be locked up and we began to realize that we would never find a cure.

 

And then it happened. Akito died, only days before his twenty-fifth birthday. Although, we mourned him, we also rejoiced. At last, with no God, we were free. We loved and lived like you couldn't imagine. Everything that we had all bottled up over the years was released in a beautiful tidal wave of emotion. For five years we felt unimaginable peace and joy… but it was not meant to last, for during our time of joy a child had grown. No longer an infant, the new head begin to realize the power and control that lay at her fingertips. And at the young age of four, she grasped it.

 

She called for us, all of us, and we came. We knelt before her in supplication, clutching fragile hope to our breasts. We saw the evil that had twisted Akito's mind rooted deep in this child's heart, and inside we wept. She demanded that we move to the estate and live in her house, so that she could be close to us. At first we were surprised that she didn't order Hatori to erase my memories and send me away, but her reasoning soon became clear. In her mind, I was so much a part of the Jyuunishi's lives that it was difficult for her to separate us. She believed that just as they were hers, so was I. I may not have been cursed, but all the same I was her pet and I was so desperate to stay with them, that I accepted this.

 

At first, things didn't seem so bad. She was still far too young to harm us physically or emotionally, and we spent most of our time with her simply sitting in silence. As she grew older, though, the curse began to shape her and it wasn't long before she became as unbalanced as Akito. When she turned six, she began to notice the love we shared for each other, and she grew jealous. In a fit of rage, she had us moved to separate parts of the house and told us that we would no longer have contact with each other without her blessing. She seldom gave this.

 

By her eighth birthday, she had learned of the cat's other form and on the night of her party, she demanded that Kyo remove his beloved beads. I still remember the shamed look on his face when she turned from him in disgust and the pain that filled our hearts when she ordered that he be locked up. He was allowed no contact with any of us, and we knew that his fiery spirit wouldn't survive in that cage. He fought against his grief and helplessness for a year before it overcame him. A piece of my soul died the night we buried him and I know now that we buried the last dredges of our hope with him as well.

 

One by one, grief consumed my Jyuunishi, and one by one we buried them, until at last Hatori and I were the only ones left alive. Then he too began to grow sick. His despair and guilt consumed him and his body grew too weak to host such pain.

 

So, here I sit beside him, clutching his hand to my breast. His skin feels hot and clammy and his ribs rattle with every breath. He has little time left and we both know it. His eyes meet mine and his tongue darts out to wet parched lips. There is fear in those eyes, yet I know that Hatori isn't afraid of death. I realize that the fear he feels must be for me and I sigh.

 

“Leave… please, leave this place before it's too late,” he whispers brokenly.

 

“You know I can't,” I murmer in reply. Anguish fills his eyes and I'm sure that if he had the strength to cry, he would.

 

“Once I'm gone, there will be no reason to stay. The Jyuunishi you knew will all be gone,” he argues desperately.

 

“Then there's no reason to leave either, for where would I go when those I love most in this world have left it? At least here, I shall have someone to love me.”

 

“Her love is as cruel and as twisted as Akito's was,” Hatori retorts harshly.

 

A small, sad smile graces my lips and I laugh humorlessly. “Any love is better than no love.”

I watch the fight go out of him as he accepts my decision and I reach out to cup his cheek. “Don't worry. It won't be long now until I'm with you all again.”

 

Hatori turns his face into my palm to place a gentle kiss there. “We will wait for you,” he promises. “We will always wait for you.” And with that said, the light leaves his eyes. Tears spill down my cheeks as I pull his body to me and cradle it in my arms. Finally, I can hold him as I've always longed to. Three hours pass before I let go of the last of my Jyuunishi. Carefully, I lay his body down and place a gentle kiss on his cold lips. I rise to my feet, slowly for I fear that they have long since fallen asleep, and walk to the bathroom to wash my face. I dry my face and gaze into the mirror, but it isn't my reflection I see. Instead, the mirror holds a memory and for a moment I hear his voice once more.

 

“When the snow melts, what does it become?”

 

“Spring,” I whisper. “It becomes spring.” I shake myself from my reverie and turn to go. I've already spent too much time here... my God is expecting me.

 

 

Fairytale Lies

 

The storybooks lied.

Prince Charming never came

and Godmother must have died,

`cause my ball went up in flames.

 

I never had a magic spell

or seven merry men.

For years my life has been like hell,

so where's my happy end?

 

Roses so red

they could make a heart cry,

a magical end

and a man willing to die?

 

Stories full of love and wonder.

Lies that taste so sweet.

They wrongly lead young girls to think

that love knows no defeat.

 

They make love seem a perfect thing,

and fill girls' hearts with hope.

They make them long to catch the dream

and keep it for their own.

 

Then when it flies away uncaught

and leaves them evermore,

their hearts are broken twice as much

because of books of lore.

 

Author's Note: Well, I hope you guys liked it. The poem above is what gave me the inspiration to write this story, so I figured I'd post it too. Please R&R. CC is welcome. Thanks!