(A/N: thanks for reading this far.)
--
Kotori stood on one side of a small street, clad in her school uniform, a small piece of paper clenched in one hand and her school bag in the other. She had her gazed fixed on a house across the street from where she was standing. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and took a timid step forward, not leaving the sidewalk she was standing on.
Suddenly, the front door of the house opened and a middle aged woman with silky blonde hair stepped outside. Her hair was pulled into a bun, her face was kind and happy. The emerald green eyes were so familiar and warming to Kotori. A small child, with whispy blonde hair and matching green eyes, followed her out the door, clutched on to the woman's long skirt.
The woman looked up and spotted Kotori standing across the street, but her eyes swept back to her little boy, picking him up in her arms. The woman didn't recognize Kotori at all. Kotori throat clenched shut, and she had forgot how to breathe.
--
Kotori sat in Hatori's office, her weekly check up just finished. He had stepped out for a moment, answering a phone call. She curiously eyed the folder that sat on his desk, she made out the kanji on the folder. Her name was written neatly on the tab.
She glanced at the door, making sure Hatori wasn't on his way back in, and quickly made her way around his desk. She swiftly took a piece of piece of paper and scribbled down an address that was listed under her parent's names.
--
Kotori heaved as she sucked air into her lungs, having ran away from the house she had just stood in front of. She was covered in a layer of sweat, her out of season uniform sticking to her skin in a sickly way. Tears escaped her eyes as she crumpled to her knees.
"She forgot," Kotori whined, "she forgot about me." She sobbed, dropping to her knees. Kotori peeked around through her tears, checking her surroundings. She wasn't far from Shigure's house, which was good. She could feel her body becoming stressed, she might transform if she couldn't calm herself.
She quickly stood up and ran toward Shigure's house, to the protection of the forest.
--
Kyo sauntered down the path to Shigure's house, Tohru followed behind, babbling on about her day at school. Kyo's foot connected with something soft, he glanced down and stopped, causing Tohru to stumble to a stop.
"Kyo?" Tohru asked, peering around him to see what made him stop. Her eyes followed his gaze to a pair of shoes, a school bag and a familiar school uniform in the middle of the dirt path.
"Kotori." Kyo said suddenly, Tohru started to panic, spinning her head in every direction for any kind of animal that was near by. Kyo took a few steps further, careful to not step on Kotori's belongings. Tohru nervously collected Kotori's things, leaving Kyo to find the transformed girl.
"K-Kyo..." A small voice called from a bush to his left, his amber eyes scanned the brush, his eyes landing on light colored feathers. A small bird sat in the grass beneath a bush off the dirt path. Her feathers were torn out in some places, tiny scars littered her wings, blood stained her remaining soft feathers.
Kyo heaved a sigh, kneeling down and putting his hand out to gingerly pick up the injured bird. Tohru watched worriedly, her arms full of Kotori's things. She silently followed Kyo as he continued on to Shigure's house.
--
"She transformed on the path to my house." Shigure explained into the phone, removing his glasses from his nose. "I haven't asked, she was asleep when Kyo- kun and Tohru-san brought her here."
Yuki and Tohru sat around the dining room table, Kyo had stretched out on the porch, the sliding door was open to let the fresh breeze in. They listened intently to the phone conversation that Shigure was having in the hall.
Shigure finished his conversation and entered the dining room, as he entered there was a small "poof" sound coming from Tohru's room, where Kyo had laid Kotori down to rest. Tohru had put her uniform and shoes into a bag near the door. Tohru also laid out some of her own clothes for Kotori to change into when she woke up.
Tohru couldn't seem to get the image of the broken bird out of her mind. How could she suffer so much and not let it show?
--
Kotori woke in an unfamiliar bed, naked and covered in sweat. The last thing she remembered was Kyo and Tohru finding her on the path to Shigure's place. She sighed heavily, her head sinking into her hands, tucking her knees under her chin. Her family really had forgotten her, the harsh words Akito whispered to torment her were true.
She heard voices coming from downstairs, and pulled her head up to look around. A white tight fitting blouse, floral skirt and her own underwear sat at the end of the bed. Kotori quickly stood and slid her under garments and the borrowed clothes on over her slender figure. She noticed her belongings in a separate bag near the door.
She avoided looking at the scars on her body, hoping no one saw her naked scarred body while she was asleep. The scars had healed up quite a bit, she probably wouldn't need the bandages anymore. Ugly jagged scars tainted her porcelain skin, they were quite visible with the clothes she put on.
With a sad sigh, Kotori exited the bedroom with her bag of belongings and made her way downstairs. Her body stills felt weak, she gripped the railing of the stairs tightly in case her footing slipped.
She opened the nearest door, hoping it was the dining room, and found Shigure, Kyo and Yuki seated around the table in the center of the room.
"Kotori-chan, good to have you join us," Shigure greeted, patting the seat beside him, his eyes scanned her body. He noticed the scars, but offered silence, well knowing how they got there.
Yuki and Kyo watched quietly as Kotori set her bag down and sat beside Shigure. Her eyes were swollen from tears, and she held onto herself like she would fall apart at any moment.
"We were all quite worried, what were you doing so far from the main house?" Shigure asked, placing a gentle arm around her shoulders.
"Lost in thought, I guess." Kotori mumbled, her voice cracking. Tohru entered the dining room, carrying a tray full of dinner. Upon seeing Kotori, she stopped in her tracks and set the tray down quickly and went back to the kitchen to get her a table setting.
The Sohma's were silent as they waited for Tohru's return.
"Is Hatori-san coming to get me?" Kotori asked, barely above a whisper. Shigure didn't respond as Tohru appeared and gave the broken girl her dinnerware. "Uncle Shigure?" Kotori pressed, wanting answers.
"You've caused quite a stir at the main house, Ko-chan. Hatori thinks it's best you give Akito some time to rest." Shigure explained, taking a sip from his tea. Kotori knew what that meant. He didn't need rest, he threw an absolute fit. She body shook from fear, her eyes met Yuki's from across the table who looked at her with understanding.
--
After dinner had finished and Kotori helped Tohru with the dishes and cleaning, she sat silently at the table, staring down at her homework that she attempted to finish.
"Kotori-san, would you like some tea?" Tohru offered, sitting across from her. Kotori looked up at her and finally looked at her. Tohru didn't look down at her in pity, she looked at her like she was a person. She didn't stare at her scars, she didn't look at her in disgust. She didn't hate her.
Tears welled up in Kotori's eyes, Tohru had a significant amount of pain hidden deep in her big brown eyes, yet she still smiled the most genuine smile.
"Oh, o-oh no! Are you alright?!" Tohru asked as tears sprang from Kotori's eyes and streaked down her cheeks. She nodded her head, but when Tohru got closer the tears continued harder. Kotori found herself with her head laid on Tohru's lap as she cried like a small child, Tohru timidly stroked her hair in attempts to soothe her.
"W-what," Kotori asked between sobs, "what makes you smile?"
YOU ARE READING
caged bird; 愛玩鳥 ( a fruits basket fanfiction )
Fanfiction(A/N: This story contains spoilers from the manga. I've also made slight changes to the story line.) 15 year old Kotori Sohma has been locked up most of her life. She was cursed by the rooster, after Kureno had been set free when he was a teenager...
