Faithless (Fruits Basket fanfiction)

Faithless (chapter 14)

I do not own Fruits Basket.

Oops...haha...it took me much longer than necessary to update this... Oh, well.

I won't delay this any longer than I already have...ON TO THE STORY!

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-Point of View: Tohru-

Every part of my body ached as the strange men hauled me through the trees to an ambulance. I do mean every part. My head, my back, my legs, my arms, my stomach…they all hurt like hell. But my heart is what held the most excruxiating pain of all.

And it was because of him.

The ambulance shook as it drove over the road. I couldn't tell which directions I was being transported in. All I could figure out was that I was in an emergency vehicle. I didn't know what anything looked like; my eyelids only had had enough strength to open for that split moment to allow my eyes to meet with his.

An additional knot formed in my stomach. Even if I didn't think of his name, just the mere thought of him was enough to make me grimace.

Did he care? Did he really care about all the pain that he's caused me in the past few years? Ever since the day I met him, he's brought me more suffering than he has comfort. But I dealt with it because I loved him. Before the events that took place earlier, that love had been unconditional.

What did he think? Did he honestly believe that he could just say 'no' to me and there would be no hard feelings? Hell no. Until now, I had been just too innocent to see this. But I'm done with that now. He was always so angry whenever I succumbed to everyone's desires. However, have there not been moments when he's wanted me to do such a thing for him?

My heart was always such an open book: easily accessible to any whom wished for my acceptance and care. I let my guard down as I broke down other people's defenses. There had never been a time when I protected my heart.

I heard a click, which signaled the opening of the ambulance door. I felt myself being pulled out on a gurney and rolled through the hallways. Where was I headed? Was I going to be placed on the east side of the hospital? West side? North? South? What time was it?

My eyelids still refused to part. Whenever I attempted it, they would just drift shut before I could take in my surroundings. It was as if I was overdosed on sleeping pills.

Warmth could be felt on my skin – either it was still daytime or the burning pain had not yet subsided. As I basked in it, my sight began to recover. I was able to open my eyes and soak in the scenery.

This awakening marked the beginning of my new disposition. From now on, I will focus on keeping myself from harm. After all, everyone else will be less pained if I am subjected to less hurt. Today was the day in which I put up that wall. Not just any wall – it was one constructed of brick and cement.

No more words.

No more emotion.

No more expression.

If I were to break any of these rules, the pain that I felt at that exact moment would return.

As all the casts were secured on my body – virtually everywhere you could have one of these damn things – it was symbolic to me. These casts helped protect my body from more harm; the casts of the aforementioned regulations would protect my soul.

Oh, look, my first practice round. Here come my best friends: Uo and Hana. It figures: the first two people whom I must be silent around are the two people with whom I have shared so many secrets, so many dinners, so much happiness with…

No! I could not permit myself to get off track from my goal. I bit my lip as the tall, blond girl and her ebony-haired, short, gothic companion entered my hospital quarters. The two of them were so strong, which made me seem so much weaker and more fragile in comparison.

"Hey, Tohru," both of them greeted softly. Damnit! Why did they have to make it so hard? How was Kisa able to do it for so long?

I bit my lip harder as a response threatened to come out. This was going to be much more difficult than I originally believed. But I couldn't give up. Not so soon.

No more words. No more emotion. No more expression. Those three sentences echoed over and over inside my mind. They were all I focused on – if I only payed attention to them and nothing else, it would be that much easier to follow them. The slightest distraction – distractions such as my friends trying to make contact with me – had the potential to ruin my plan.

The more I repeated the words silently to myself, the easier if became to ignore everything else around me.

No more words.

No more emotion.

No more expression.

Yes…silence is good for me.

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Sure it is, Tohru. Just keep thinking that...if you don't, my story won't continue (I'm already in the sequel on the site this story was first published on).

Well, Merry Christmas! (Maybe I'll give you the next chapter because it's almost Christmas...yeah, I should.)

R/R/KR!

-Pamela