I'd collapsed from an asthma attack during P.E. These feverish dreams – nightmares – wouldn't leave me alone. I tossed and turned in discomfort, drifting between wakefulness and oblivion. Somewhere along the way, I recalled getting home and being settled into a futon, and then I knew no more.
"Everyone hates you, Yuki." That voice – silkily and poisonously sweet – it could only belong to Akito. I was six years old again, and back in that torture chamber that was Akito's room.
"That ox-boy – Hatsuharu, I think – he hates you. The cat-boy hates you too. You're the rat of the zodiac, that's why." The head of the Souma clan drew closer, and instinctively I backed up… until my back hit the rice-paper walls. This was a position I knew all too well; and I could easily predict what was about to happen next.
"Liar. Faker. Fraud. Hypocrite." No! I wasn't! I cringed even further back as her harsh words grated on my ears.
"I'm not!" I cried. "I'm NOT!"
The shadow of the whip marked as mine by my own blood fell across me. Akito's eyes glowed with sinister purpose; her lips curved in an evil smile. "Is that so?" Her hand descended sharply, and I felt the silk cloth on my back part without any resistance at the lick of the whip. My skin burned all along the break.
Tears rose to my eyes, but I bit them back fiercely. "Yes!"
"That's not true, Yuki. Everyone hates you. Including me." Once again, the whip descended; I screamed as this time skin tore, burying my head in my arms to protect myself as best as I could, pressing into the screen walls.
I knew better than to hope for rescue. Nobody had ever come; nobody would ever come. Everybody knew that Akito was dangerous, and that it was best to leave her alone unless one was a masochist or had a death wish. Unable to hold them back, I allowed the salty liquid overflow and drip onto the tatami floor.
"Crybaby," she spat. "You always break so easily." Again, I saw the whip rise, already dripping slowly with blood that looked almost purple in the dim light. My blood. It drew back slightly before slashing down –
Jerking awake, I screamed. "I'm not!"
"Yuki?!" Two heads appeared in front of me; one with orange hair and the other half white, half black. "Yuki, are you okay?!"
Obviously I wasn't, but I let it pass as I slowly tried to calm myself down. It was just a dream, it was just a dream, it was just a dream. I wasn't in Akito's room; I was in my own room in Shigure's house; I wasn't six, I was sixteen. And it wasn't Akito who stood before me, but my cousins, Hatsuharu and Kyou. The ox and the cat.
"Should we call Honda-san?" inquired Haru, sounding rather worried. "She did ask to be informed if anything happened…"
"Yeah; I'll go," said Kyou, beginning to rise.
Lingering fragments of the nightmare forced me to act; I grabbed hold of his arm before he could stand. "Kyou…"
He looked surprised. Then again, he was used to me referring to him as 'baka neko'. "What, rat?"
"Do you… hate me?" I stared at him, imploring; Haru swam into my vision, looking puzzled by my sudden change in behavior. Normally I wouldn't let my insecurity show, not least to the other zodiac members and definitely not in front of the cat, who was supposed to be my sworn enemy.
"E-eh?! I –" Kyou seemed stumped, and was apparently speechless for the moment.
I shifted my gaze to Haru. "You hate me, don't you? Just like Akito said… everyone hates me because I'm the rat of the zodiac…"
Haru – White Haru – knelt down beside my futon. "No, Yuki. We don't hate you. Remember, I love you. We all love our nezumi. Even Kyou." He wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.
Kyou knelt down too. "Nightmares about Akito?" he asked gruffly, not meeting my eyes.
"Mm…" To my surprise, he, too, joined Haru in the embrace. I stiffened for a second before leaning into them. For the first time in ages, I let myself cry in front of someone else.
Sometimes, I truly loved my family.
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A/N: Erm… first Fruits Basket fanfic. In fact, first fanfic in a fandom apart from Prince of Tennis… Hopefully nobody's totally OOC. Constructive criticism and feedback is greatly appreciated! Review please!