Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Where Your Shadow Falls- Part 1: Darkness, My Old Friend ❯ Just Like Blood ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Just Like Blood

 

 

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“Looking away, too scared to see human remains"

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-Human Remains By: Tom McRae

 

She needed to end it. End it all. Soon. She couldn't take much more of this. She had to end it soon.

 

 

“Isuzu…Why have you come?” The icy voice sent chills to the deepest part of her soul. She felt the urge to run, like a cowardly insect. She had decided to come back to the main gate that night. She couldn't help it. Rin felt the urge to scream. And most sickeningly of all, she felt the urge to hug the frail figure in the shadows ahead of her. She couldn't speak. Her tongue was frozen in her mouth. Frozen along with her free will…and her heart. “Why do you not speak?” The voice asked.

Again, she couldn't move; couldn't speak.

“Is it because you are unable?” The figure questioned. “Or do you just choose not to answer me?” A breeze fluttered in from the crack beneath the door, rustling her long black hair. “Come here, Isuzu.” The voice whispered, and it was like something had taken possession of her body. It unlocked her muscles and forced her legs to walk forward while every fiber of her being was screaming:

Run! Run!

She stopped just in front of the shadow.

“That's a good girl. Now why won't you talk to me? Do you really hate me that much?”

“Rin…Do you really hate me that much?”

Oh, God, anytime but now.

Long fingernails scraped the length of her eye to her collar bone.

“Akito, please—” she choked.

“Ah, so now you talk? Interesting,” Akito said. “Why did you come here, Isuzu?” Akito turned her back to Rin. “I ask you once more. Why have you come?” She looked over her shoulder at Rin. Rin couldn't talk again. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. “You should answer,” Akito hissed, “…when a God asks you a question!” A hand lashed out and struck Rin to the floor with more force than you'd guess possible from such a frail looking person.

“A-Akito—”

“Do not beg for mercy, you disgusting girl, when you deserve none.” Akito stood over her, glaring down at her; eyes boring holes into her soul.

“I—”

“Answer me, Isuzu!” Akito cried, raising her hand to strike Rin once more.

“I don't know!” Rin choked out. Akito's hand stopped in mid-air. She dropped it to her side.

“You don't know?” Akito's voice was frighteningly quiet. “You don't know why you have come to speak with me? They why come at all?!” A sharp pain exploded in Rin's side along with her face.

“I—I—” Akito grabbed a fistful of Rin's hair. She cried out as Akito dragged her to her feet by it.

“Spit it out!”
“I wanted to know!” She cried, her face distorted with pain.

“Know what?” Akito asked quietly. Rin opened her mouth, and then closed it again. Akito yanked on the hair she was still holding.

“AH!” Rin shrieked.

“Know what, Isuzu!”

“I WANTED TO KNOW HOW TO END IT ALL!” Rin screamed, collapsing as Akito released her hair.

“End it?” Akito looked down at her out of the corner of her eye. “You selfish vermin. You think you can just end it?” Rin didn't move; she hardly breathed. “There is no end. Forever, remember, little horse? You promised.”

Silence enveloped the room. Rin didn't move. She could feel the pain ebbing; flowing through her—just like blood. The blood she cursed…the blood that was cursed. The blood that connected Rin to her. Akito took a few steps towards the door, but turned around to face her again.

“It's not that simple, girl. You promised you'd stay with me forever, Isuzu. You can't just end it.”

She said and walked out of the room, leaving Rin alone as she closed the door hard behind her with an echoing bang and the click of a lock.

* * *

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“Listen to the sound of my voice

Can you feel the beat of my heart?

 

It's all very simple

To see what we need”

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-Give Us Hope By: James Papoulis

 

 

“Haru! Dinner!” His mom called. Haru blinked. He'd fallen asleep, fully clothed; lights on. He sat up, trying to ignore the pounding headache behind his eyes.

“I'll be right there!” He called half-heartedly, rising up from the bed. His room was chilly, so he dug a black hoodie up from the recesses of his drawer and pulled it on. He drifted out to the dining room where his mother was setting the table.

“Hey, Haru,” she said with a smile.

“Hey, Mom,” he returned, grabbing some of the silverware from her and placing around the table. “Will Dad be home for dinner?”

“Yes,” his mom replied, setting the last of the glasses near the plates. “He should be home from the airport any minute now.”

“That's good,” Haru commented, sitting down in his chair at the table. “We haven't had a family dinner since he left for that business trip. I'm glad he's back.”

“Me too.” Just then the door creaked open and they heard someone sneeze.

“Speak of the Devil,” Haru muttered, grinning, as his father stepped through the door.

“Hello everyone!”

“Hey, Dad,” Haru said from the table. “Welcome home.”

“Thanks, Haru. It's great to be home.”
“Welcome home, dear,” Haru's mom said as she gave his dad a quick peck on the cheek.

“Hello, honey. Mmm, oden? Smells great!” He exclaimed, setting his briefcase and luggage down and hanging his coat on the hook by the door.

“Do you want to go change while Haru and I serve?” His mom suggested.

“That'd be great, thanks,” Haru's dad said, hugging his mother as he walked to his bedroom.

“It's great that Dad's back,” Haru stated, helping his mother ladle out the pot of oden she'd brought out.

“It really is, isn't it?” His mother said. Haru was astounded by the look on her face. He'd only seen that look two other instances.

One: When Kyo had looked at Tohru the day they're went swimming at the summer house.

And Two: …when Rin had looked at him after they'd kissed for the first time.

It was the look of pure, unconditional love.

The kind Rin and he had used to share. His first thought after he'd left the hospital after she'd broken up with him had been:

It doesn't matter. I'll never stop loving her.

But love was supposed to be the best feeling in the world. With rainbows and flowers and chocolate. Love was supposed to be the thing that brought people together, not pushed them away.

If love is supposed to feel so great… Haru thought to himself, then why does it hurt so much?

“Haru, are you okay?”

“Hn?” Haru was tugged away from his thoughts. “Oh, yah, I'm fine.” His mother gave him a strange look.

“All right.” Haru's father strode into the room in casual clothes opposed to the suit and tie he had been wearing when he walked in the door.

“Well, now that everybody's here,” he declared, taking his son and his wife in his arms. “Let's eat.”

 

Dinner wolfed down in a companionable silence. All of them were hungry. The conversation drifted onto the events of Haru's father's business trip, and then onto Haru's school life. Haru of course, not wanting to worry his parents, denied there was anything wrong, he just had a lot of work to get through, and asked if he could be excused early.

Haru trekked to his room and sat on his bed at a loss for what to do. It was just too hard to be around his parents and keep up the smile right now. He scanned his room for an activity when his eyes fell across his pile of CDs. He got up and strode over to them, digging through the pile until he found one that he hadn't listened to in a long time.

Why not?

He plugged a tangled pair of headphones in to the CD player and hit play. The player stalled for a minute. It was his old model.

He smacked the player and heard it whine, and then stop. He sighed, looking up to the window, watching the clouds pass in front of the moon.

I wonder where she is right now, Haru thought. I wonder if she can see the moon…

Haru sighed, hitting play on the CD player once more.

 

It's funny how
Things work out,
The ones we need
Don't know we're there
If I were sand
And you were oceans,
The moon would be
Why you're pulled to me

I wake up and think dreams are real
I sleep so I don't have to feel
The truth that you can never be
The one person that won't ever forget me

I hope that dreams
Come when I die
So we can talk
I won't wake up
I'll ask you how
Your life worked out
I'll never know
That I'm just dreaming

I wake up and think dreams are real
I sleep so I don't have to feel
The truth that you can never be
The one person that won't ever forget me

Let me sleep some more...

 

End of Chapter 3:

Just Like Blood

 

 

A/n: All right, so now you know Rin has been sorta kidnapped (?) by Akito…don't quite know how that worked out. But I'll all make it fit, don't you worry ^_^. And the song was a big FORESHADOWING!!! *hint hint* so yah. I decided to bring Haru's parents in. It was quite interesting to write about someone not in the manga. I guess you'll be seeing quite a bit more of them. Aaanyway…well, I'll see you next time.

Rin: Why did I have to be kidnapped by Akito?

Me: Cuz ur most scared of him

Rin: Oh, that makes total sense

Haru: *superhero cape* I'll save you Rin

Me: ^_^ Not unless I write it!

Haru: *falls through the air* you're a mean writer, you know that?

Me: *flips hair* It's a gift

(Bya! See you next chapter)

 

P.S. The song is Dream to Make Believe By: Armor For Sleep

 

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Fruits Basket is the creation of Takaya Natsuki, and is licensed in North

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