𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | Fruits Basket FF

(20)

unrevised.
/ chapter 20 /

A little girl stood before Ichika with a saddened look on her face. She had azure locks of hair just like her and her navy eyes carried heavy tears. Ichika felt herself reaching out towards the little girl and scooping her up into her arms.

"Do you think Mama and Papa would have loved me if I didn't look like this?" The girl said as her lips wobbled.

Ichika looked at her confused. There was nothing wrong with the little girl. Why was she saying that?

Within a split second as Ichika had looked away for a moment before looking back at the girl in her arms, she almost gasped. The girl's pale skin had started to scale and her navy eyes were now golden and had black slits in them. Her mouth now had thick fangs that protruded past her lips.

Ichika stared at the girl silently, the expression on her face was unreadable as the little girl began to cry.

"Everything's my fault. If only I didn't look like this. Now you suffer because of me."

Sadness filled Ichika's entire being.

"Are you still thinking about that?" Ichika asked, and the little girl nodded in response.

"Yes, because I know you still think about it even though you're surrounded by kind people. It's my fault that Mama and Papa don't love you."

Ichika looked at the little girl in anguish. "..I don't know. I know how much we've craved their love, but look at what they did to you."

The little girl stared up at Ichika. Her skin no longer had scales and her eyes were no longer golden. What replaced it were purple bruises in all different areas of her body. Her arms, her legs and her face.

"L-Look at what they did to you." Ichika choked.

Ichika opened her eyes slowly as tears rolled down her temples. She slowly sat up from her futon and wiped her eyes with her hands.

It was that dream again. It had been a while since she dreamt of her younger self. It tortured her to see like that.

The blue-haired Sohma tiredly glanced over to see Tohru was still safe and sleeping peacefully. Ayame had gone home a few hours ago and Tohru had a long night trying to calm Yuki down. Now the girl was sleeping without a care in the world.

Ichika with a chuckle under her breath, she tucked a strand of her blue hair behind her ear and pushed herself out of the futon. Taking a deep breath, just as she was about to turn and head out of the door, she heard a light tapping coming from the window of Tohru's bedroom.

She then slowly made her way towards the window and pushed the curtains.

Her navy eyes met a pair of familiar purple eyes and she gasped. Ichika backed away from the window and she quickly ran to the closet, chucking on a large black coat over her satin pyjamas.

Before she knew it, she was out of the room and down the stairs as quietly as she could be. It was still late at night and she didn't want to wake the others up.

She slid open the front door and made her way outside to the front garden where she finally met him.

She stopped in her tracks, out of breath, as he stood a few feet away from her with his hands in the pockets of coat, staring at her silently.

Ichika could tell from the dark circles under his eyes how exhausted he seemed to be.

He must have been working to his bone, Ichika thought.