It took me forever to get around to adding an intro to this world. This is where I keep all my Fruits Basket fanfics. There are so many of them (and hopefully many more to come), I thought they needed their own world. 
My favorite characters from Fruits Basket are: Rin and Akito.
Fan Words contests I participated/will participate in:
"*Your* Story" by Haru93
"Your Best Friend" by Sangome
"Character Creation By the Numbers" by Markus Wolfe
Check them out!
Enjoy!
I hadn’t really thought it could get any worse. But I guess it did.
Her cheeks were damp again, just as it seemed they always were after she talked to Ren. At least she was gone now.
Akito leaned out the window of her room, letting the wind play with her hair and dry her never-forgotten tears. She loved the wind, loved the way it swirled so lazily through the days, loved the way it took her mind to places she could never be.
But oh, she envied it. Envied the freedom it would always hold over her.
So what if I’m only fifteen? What does it matter?
She leaned out, further, further. Wouldn’t it be nice to be on the “outside”, just for a little while? A smile drifted across Akito’s face at the thought. See what they saw, do what they do, be what they are…
I’ll never be like them. And I’ll never get my chance.
But that stubborn determination was already too strong in Akito’s eyes. She dragged herself back into her rooms and ran to her closet to dig out one of her most precious possessions. She pulled it out, holding it up against her chest. A dress. The only dress she had. She had stolen it from one of Ren’s old trunks. Ren never looked in that trunk anymore, not since she had become a “Sohma”.
I’m going to be a girl today.
You’ll never get away, that pesky little voice whispered in her ear. Never.
Akito ignored it. When she was dressed and ready, she ran back to her open window. Adrenaline surged through her, burning away the tears. With a swift but slightly wobbly motion, Akito leaned out the window, grabbed the rough bark of the tree, and swung herself out with sheer force of will. Jumping to the ground, she looked around. There was no one there. So she ran.
*****
Akito laughed. She actually laughed. Her skin creased and crinkled in ways that she hadn’t known were possible. She stopped abruptly, bringing her hands to her face.
So this is what laughter looks like? What it feels like?
Akito approached the gates at the edges of Sohma property. She couldn’t believe that this was all that had been holding her back. These gates were just a few twisted bars of ornate black metal. What power did metal have over her, anyway? She was held by much more powerful things.
Tentatively, Akito pushed the gate. Her heart leapt into her mouth as she watched it slowly creak open. Akito slipped through the small opening carefully pulling the gate shut behind her.
The outside world seemed so…different…than the inside. Of course she had been on the outside before, but never like this. Never without an escort, without someone there to make sure she held up the impression of what she was supposed to be.
The energy in the air was filling her, mixing with her adrenaline. Akito threw her arms wide, as if she could embrace the entire world within them. Sunlight dappled her face, and she grinned. For a minute, she forgot everything. Her father. Her responsibilities. Her pains. Her regrets. Her future. For just a minute, just one, blissful, minute, she was just…Akito.
She loved it.
And then a footstep broke the silence.
Akito’s eyes flew open and she whirled around, finding herself face to face with her favorite tormentor.
Shigure smiled innocently. “Why, hello, Miss. Are you lost?”
Akito glared at him, the steel back in her eyes. “Tell anyone that I was out and you’ll find yourself discovering exactly how a true dog lives these days.”
Shigure’s smile grew even wider. “No, no, I wouldn’t dream of it.” He stepped closer to Akito, slipping his arm around her waist. She shivered. “It can be our little secret.” Shigure half-led, half-dragged Akito towards the twisted metal gate. He pushed it open, watching as it swung silently out of the way. He gestured to the pristine area spread out before them. “After you.”
“What if I told you my curse was broken? What would you say?”
A look of horror flitted across Kyo’s face. “That’s not funny, Momiji.”
*****
Momiji smiled darkly. He thought it was ironic. Very ironic, in fact, that he had the one thing that Kyo and all the other zodiac members wanted the most. They all fought for it, cried over it, sacrificed the very essence of themselves for it.
Freedom.
And Kyo was the one who had given it to him.
And it was even more ironic that while Momiji had the freedom Kyo wanted most, Kyo had what he wanted most.
Her.
He didn’t blame Kyo, of course...not entirely. Kyo was simply clueless to what he had. And to what he had done. Through his determination and love, Kyo had become almost…human. He didn’t know that he had made it possible for Momiji to accept him as a real person, as more than just the cat. Momiji had learned that Kyo wasn’t one he could look down on. And that was the key to his freedom. He had gained the one thing he had always wanted.
And had lost other things.
He lost a bond. Probably the truest and deepest bond he would ever experience. He hadn’t realized it mattered so much. He knew he was going to miss it, in some weird way. Some dark, twisted way. The tears were still flowing freely down his face, burning the memory of their bond into his skin. The bond that had been so forcibly held in his heart for so long.
And he lost her.
Maybe Kyo hadn’t realized he had competition. Even Momiji had to laugh out loud at the absurdity of that thought, the tears still burning. He probably hadn’t realized. Kyo barely even realized why he was fighting, at this point.
She didn’t even realize she was being fought over.
But he loved her anyway. He loved her so much…that’s why he fought the curse, fought Kyo with a different kind of dislike.
So what if she didn’t know he loved her? He had accepted that already. There was so much he didn’t know. What her favorite color was. What food she hated the most. Her biggest hopes. Her smallest fears.
Why…why she loved Kyo, whether she realized it or not.
But he didn’t want to think about that anymore. He didn’t want to be bitter anymore. Kyo, albeit unknowingly, had given him what he always dreamed of. He had opened up his future. He could be whatever, whoever, he wanted.
He had his whole life in front of him now. All those possibilities. He could do anything. He could smile now, really smile, knowing he had a chance at true happiness. No more secrets, no more lies. And he owed it all to Kyo. Even if he knew now that Kyo was a reason that there was one thing he could never have.
Besides, there was someone out there for him.
There had to be.
Ok, I just want to point out that there are SPOILERS in this one. Well, one big one. I’m just going to say this-if you haven’t learned Akito’s big secret yet, then it has a spoiler in it. This only shows up in the manga, NOT in the anime. I’m assuming that everyone who reads this knows Akito’s secret. If you don’t know it and want to read this anyway, look it up, because the whole story is based on it. I would write it here for you guys, but I don’t want to ruin it for anybody. Oh, and this is from Akito’s perspective as a little kid. Well, hope you like it!!!!! Let me know what you think!
I giggled at the mirror, delighted by how funny I looked. The sound bounced around and around the empty room, echoing through the hallways. My breath quickened, and I glanced around anxiously, alert to every noise. I hoped nobody had heard me laugh. It would be very, very bad if someone caught me in here. I stayed still, not even daring to move until the sound had passed entirely. After a moment I relaxed, alone again in the desolate room. No one had heard me.
I returned my full attention to the reflection in the mirror. It was so unfamiliar, I barely recognized myself. But I liked the reflection. It was so much prettier than I normally was. Mommy’s fancy kimono hung from my bony frame, the bright colors and patterns making my sun-deprived skin look even paler. “It would look SO much prettier,” I whispered to myself, turning this way and that before the mirror, “If my skin wasn’t so pale. I wonder why Mommy’s doesn’t look as pale as mine…”
I cast my gaze around the room, trying to come up with a way to add color to my complexion. Suddenly, I saw what I was looking for; a drawer of Mommy’s usually locked dresser was slightly ajar, and I rushed toward it, knowing what I would find. I had been in here many times before, and I had once knocked over the dresser by accident and found this. I hadn’t had any time to use it then-Mommy had caught me- but I had time now! I pulled makeup out by the handfuls. I loved playing with all of Mommy’s girly stuff. It was so much fun! I could spend hours in this room, just trying out all the different combinations of clothes and different kinds of makeup and finding out what looked best on me. I only wished that my hair was longer so I could style that, too. Mommy had never let me keep my sleek black hair long; I bet it would have looked nice. Maybe it would have even been as long as hers!
“Akito-san! Akito-san, where are you?” I heard my nurse’s distraught cry. I couldn’t be caught in here again! I was going to get in so much trouble. Mommy was going to be really mad at me. I knew that she hated it when I played dress-up and makeover, but it was just too much fun to pass up.
Suddenly footsteps pounded towards the door, and Mommy burst in. She looked mad; her long raven hair swirled over her shoulders, and bracelets jangled on her wrist. Her expression oozed an indescribable anger that my eight-year old mind could not comprehend. I ignored her expression, focusing instead on her jewelry. I wish I had thought of wearing jewelry like that! The bracelets and necklaces made her look even prettier. I bet it would have made me look better, too. “Mommy?” I asked, trying to ignore her glare. “Will you help me? I wanna grow up pretty like you, Mommy. I need your help!”
Mommy’s expression changed from anger to hate. I looked into her eyes, and all I could see was my reflection, my hair cut short like a boy’s, her fancy clothes barely covering my skinny body. I didn’t see love or kindness; all I saw was a little girl forced to act and dress like the boy she had never wanted to be.
It scared me.
I broke down and started to cry. I knew what was coming next. I didn’t even try to resist as Mommy ripped her clothes off of me, forcing me into my traditional male kimono. She washed off the makeup, scrubbing hard at my skin to make sure there wasn’t a trace left. When she finished, she leaned back and studied me critically. When she appeared satisfied by my male appearance, she shoved me out the doorway and retreated into her room, slamming the rice screen behind her.
I ran screaming and crying past my frantic nurse, back through the hallways, and lunged into my room, slamming the rice screen shut. I threw myself down on the pillows, still sobbing. Within minutes I heard the rice screen door of my room sliding open and Sigure, Ayame, Hatori, and Kureno walked in, softly shutting the rice screen behind them. I let them comfort me, telling me how pretty I was, and how sad Mommy would be when I grew up and she realized how she had wasted all of my beauty by forcing me to be raised as a boy. They passed me around, each holding me in his arms, telling me how I was the most important thing in his world. I clung to them all, clung to them because they were my lifelines. They were the only real things in my world.
They promised me that they would never leave me. My zodiac members promised me that they would never leave me, and I was never going to let them go.
End
