𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐑𝐄'𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐄 | Fruits Basket FF

(33)

unrevised.
/ chapter 33 /

Kyo refused to stay there any longer. He jumped to the roof of the house, denting the roof tiles with the weight of his tall body and escaped to the forest.

Ichika pushed away from the window and fell to her knees. The memory vividly remaining her mind as well as the surprise of Kyo's form. Although Kyo didn't stick around to see Tohru's reaction, Ichika did. She saw the entire thing from her window.

She glanced down at her shaking hands.

Tohru was shocked. Her face went completely blank but her eyes were the size of saucers.

Ichika placed her palms on her face and her fingers covered her erratic eyes.

Was that how her mother viewed her when she first transformed? Her form was what made her own mother refuse to accept her?

Would Tohru do the same to her?

No, Tohru wouldn't, would she?

"But she hasn't see your form yet." A voice hissed in her head.

Her body begun to maniacally shake. How long has it been since she had an attack like this?

Breath properly. That was all she needed to do, but why was it so hard?

She remembered the last time she felt like this and how painful it was for her to breath. Her breath was shortening by the second and her eyes stung with tears.

As if things couldn't get any worse, her stomach started to churn and she started feeling nauseous.

She was getting scared.

Without noticing the door opening and closing from the other side of the room and the sound of approaching footsteps, her body fell— no, it was pulled forward and she was suddenly enveloped in a source of warmth. Her nose immediately smelt the familiar rich scent of cologne.

She was rested against a hard chest and in the arms of she'd been hoping to see, though she didn't expect for him to appear before her like this. Maybe all of the wishful thinking she had been doing the past few days paid off. Or maybe it was just him being himself, appearing whenever needed at most.

Without saying much or explaining his sudden appearance here, he started to prioritise her wellbeing.

Hatori, she tried saying through her short breaths, but she was quickly hushed.

"Close your eyes and focus on your breathing."

She did as she was told and shut her eyes, focusing on just her breathing and only that. Deep breaths in through the nose before it comes out, there needed to be a rhythm to it.

"What can you hear and smell?" He asked her as she practiced her breathing.

She wondered why he asked, but nonetheless, with her eyes still shut, she answered hesitantly. "Rain.. and cigarettes."

Ah, the smell of cigarettes. The carcinogenic residue she's so familiar with that stuck to him like glue.

"Good. Focus on that." He said.

She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent, then exhaled, feeling her heartbeat slow down. Her ears focused on the pitter patter of the rain.

When she didn't hear him add anymore questions, she pried open her eyes and gazed up at him in questioning through her azure bangs.

"Are you calmer now?" He asked her with the softest smile on his face. If she hadn't looked closely, she wouldn't have noticed he was smiling at her. Perhaps if Shigure saw the face he was making right now, he would probably solidify completely.