DiScLaImEr – Nah…not mine…*But* it'd make a nice birthday present, ne? ^^;;

JuSt a LiL note – SuRpRiSe~!!  YupYup…another Fruits Basket ficcy…not a one-shot, no matter how much ppl luv/hate it, although hopefully it'll be more of the former ^^*  This is a lil birthday present from me to you…(yes, it's my birthday today~!  Woo-hoo~!!  Better to give than to receive, rite??  So here ya'll go~!!) I just thought I'd write something other than my regular fic for a change, seeing how I haven't written anything FB-related after that one-shot.  Well…I'll leave the rest of the blabbering for the bottom…enjoy~!

All characters' thinking will be done in BOLD…cuz ya never know when the stupid italics will decide to like me and work… ^^;;

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~*~ Lest I Forget ~*~

Chapter 1 ~ Goodbye Forever?

````````````````````````````````````````````````

````````````````````````````````````````````````

So this is it. 

I took a deep breath and looked around me one last time, as if trying to memorize the details of the room which will serve as the burial of my memories—memories of the past two years, all of which I have cherished with my whole entire being…with my whole heart.

It's ironic, really.  I thought that I'd have learned the first time how to truly cherish everything that is important to me, just so that I don't have to wake up one day and realize it's gone.  Important things, people…and even important memories. 

It's funny how happy times seem to know how to just pass you by without you noticing…funny how the best times always go by so quickly, yet you never fully understand just how important they are to you until the moment you realize that there will be no more.  No more of those times which I hold as precious treasures within my heart. 

God, I'm going to miss you so much…all of you…but especially you.

I never got to tell you, either…never got to tell you how I feel about you.

Closing my eyes briefly in attempt to control the tears which threaten to fall, I took one last staggered deep breath and turned to face the one responsible for this painful ordeal. 

"Akito-san…I…I'm ready." I said to him in a soft whisper—the loudest voice I could muster up.

"It took you long enough." He hissed.

Smirking in satisfaction, Sohma Akito was ultimately pleased, yet a little surprised too at how everything were finally working out according to his liking.  This pest of a girl—this…this imbecile who dared to defy his orders, who had bewitched members of his clan—his clan!—to disobey his wishes—was finally going to be gone from their lives forever.  Certainly his own dearly beloved relatives did not need her to interfere with their lives any longer than she already has…they had him still, after all.  They were to obey him no matter what, or face the consequences…did he not teach them that, through physical and emotional means, since he was still a child?  Ah…yes…a child…and yet so powerful and cruel a child he was that even the eldest of those whom he kept closest to himself and came closest to trusting, the twelve cursed by the zodiac, obeyed his every wimp.  That's not to mention all the other members—pawns, really—of his large clan. 

And that is just the way things should be.  Akito continued to smirk maliciously, taking complete enjoyment out of the distress of the girl before him.   

"Hatori," he started, taking pleasure in the pained look on the usually stoic man's face, "wipe away her memory—leave nothing that has anything at all to do with the Sohmas.  She will not need to know who we are; she will not need to remember meeting Yuki, or Shiguire, or anyone else.  I will be relocating her to a new school, and a new area to live in…away from everyone.  Oh…and her sad excuses for friends…that Yankee and that denpa…wipe them from her memories too.  Leave nothing but the hurt of being almost newly orphaned by her mother…leave nothing but the pain and the sorrow that she felt, sitting beside that woman's death bed." 

That's right…leave her nothing but pain.  Akito thought to himself as he felt his face twist into an ugly sneer.  Leave her with nothing but sorrow…for all the trouble she has caused me.  Leave her with a broken and unmendable heart…just as she deserves.

A strangled sob escaped from the girl sitting before him, finally unable to contain her tears.  Seeing her reaction, Akito saw his personal doctor's features deepen in the pain he was feeling.  Rising softly from his position on the windowsill, Akito made his way over to the girl.  Bending down, he lifted her chin up with one hand lightly, forcing her to look him in the eye. 

"You can still turn back now, you know." He cooed almost gently, if not for the pricking cruelty evident in his soft voice.  "However," leaning in closer to her, his hair brushing her face, he dropped his voice to a low, soft tone, "the others will not be given that luxury.  Do you really wish to see them the way they are now?  You know I will not allow them to leave my presence until you disappear…and I believe we both know just how much they are enjoying staying with me here.  Each in their own chamber, awaiting my company." 

Silence.  Nothing in the entire mansion seemed to dare intrude the crucial moment in that one room, save for the continual soft sobs escaping from the shaking girl's lips. 

I'm so afraid…I don't want to lose them.  But I…but I….

"I…I…"  C'mon Tohru…for their sake.  I have to.  "I'm not going to turn back…not now." 

"Very good."  Rising from his bend position, Akito looked over to the only remaining occupant in the room.  "Hatori, I believe that was your cue."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hatori closed his eyes in pain.

This is all my fault. 

Mustering all his strength, Hatori could barely make himself open his eyes.  He did not want to meet the gaze of the sneering family head, who had probably never looked so pleased in his life, nor did he want to meet the gaze of the crying girl, so brave and so strong in spirit, willing to give up everything for those she cared about…yet so frail and breakable at the same time. 

What am I going to do?

`````````````````````````````````````

`````````````````````````````````````

Okay okay…before anyone kills me…GOMEN NASAI~!!  As evil as I made Akito, I seriously *don't* hate him~!!  I mean, read my other FB fic!  I made him so nice in it!!! o_O  Demo…for the sake of this story, I need him to be mean.  So, to all the Akito fans out there…gomen ne!  And I also have absolutely nothing against Tohru, Uo-chan and Hana-chan…juss…coming from an "evil Akito"'s perspective…wouldn't they sound like that??  *puppy eyes*

That aside…was it that bad?  I know it was probably a lil short…but since this chappie was my test-guppie (aka. guinea pig…^^*), so I didn't make it any longer in case I get murdered for it #_#  Please tell me what you think, okay??  No revelations of pairings whatsoever yet…but it *will* (obviously…) be a 1+Tohru fic…and the ending??  Who knows?  =^^=  I was gunna saying something (and I originall had, before I came back to change the formatting…but decided against giving away too much of the story~!  But I'll say this: I like Fruits Basket too much to ruin the story, so chances are, I wunt be too overly horribly to it…   Demo ne…if I offend too many ppl (wiv my evil Akito & just the way the story's laid out)…and you guys dunt like this chappie…well *sobs* I guess I just can't continue with it.

Anyhow…while it still exists…comments/criticisms most welcomed~!!  The sooner you tell me what you think, the sooner I can continue/it can disappear!!!

~Aqua Sunshine ^^*