Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.
A/N: This is an AR fic-- it takes place in the same universe, but I've changed a few things around. It's centered mainly on Tohru, with Akito coming in through entries in a diary-- seen through Tohru's eyes as she reads. This follows the manga plotline up to a point (because obviously Akito's still alive) and then veers off into my own ideas. I hope you enjoy this, and thank you for reading!
Prologue: The Ways We Die
x
I can feel my body dying.
x
x
It isn't a new feeling, or a particularly bad feeling, but it overwhelms all my other senses. I'm weak. I'm surprised I'm still strong enough to write, to pen down these last few words. I don't think I'll last more than another week.
And all of my zodiac will be free.
Will they mourn?
Will they cry?
Will they love their new God as they loved me?
I can not know. I will never know. They will go on after I am gone, maybe bruised, maybe scarred, but... still living.
Will they forget me?
I'm ready to face whatever lies beyond this life. I am not happy; I am not even myself at times. All I understand is this suffering. All I understand is this never-ending pain. Will it stop when I die? Will my life really flash before my eyes? Will I wake up in a new body, in a new time? Will I wake up to fire and eternal torment? Or will I never wake up at all, merely floating along in some otherwordly sea? I don't know; I don't even want to imagine what awaits me.
I want to lie down, fall asleep, and forget how much I'm hurting. Death doesn't scare me. At least I don't think it does; I've never thought about it more than as just a simple inevitability. A fact that you can't change. Something... permanent and independent of every other influence. I'm not even sure if I'll remember this life at all when I'm gone. I don't know if I'll remember any of the wretched people I encountered in this life.
Yuki, the rat...
the Cat...
Hatori...
Kureno...
that damn woman...
Shigure...
Will I remember him?
Will I remember any of them? Or will my mind be blank and fresh and unburdened? I do not know. I do not even care to know. But somehow, in this weary, worn body, I know that it's almost time for me to find out.
I hate you. All of you.
I hate you almost as much as I love you. I did love you; I don't care if you don't believe me or if you think I have some hidden agenda, I loved you and I leave no room for argument.
And that's it. I'm ready to go. With so much unfinished here, will I ever be at peace? Will I come back as a spirit? Will I be able to atone for my sins, or will I be absolved of them instantly? I don't know. I don't care.
Not anymore.
Goodbye.
---------------------------------
Akito lay down, throwing the small black book across the room, feeling wasted and tired and ready to fade into darkness.
Two days passed.
Akito died.
And the lives of the twelve– no, thirteen– would never be the same again.
: end prologue :
End A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me if you like it! Give the story a chance; I promise it'll get better!