She of Memories Past and Fading

By: OtakuSailorV

Note:: NOT a Mary-Sue

Akito POV

There was a time when I was a child too.

I had a mother, a father, and a life.

But I was always being reminded of my destiny. . .

And when that destiny was revealed to my mother at my birth, she left. She didn't want to see her child in pain, and left with my father.

At least, that's what I was told since I can remember.

"You are cursed, someday, you will bare the curse, and that's why your mother left you. She didn't want to see your pain."

I remember sadness.

I never spent much time with anyone. I was lonesome, and wandered aimlessly from room to room in the Sohma estate most of my younger years.

When I was about three years old, I stumbled upon a dark room. All the doors and windows were shut tight, but I could hear that someone was inside. There was the sound of labored breathing, and the rustle of cloth as something moved.

I stood in the doorway, frozen in shock and confused horror for who knows how long.

But finally, I moved, and the door that I was leaning on slid open suddenly.

There was a startled gasp and I saw a pile of bedding in the middle of the room.

I think the person that resided under those sheets gasped at the same time as me, and scared us both senseless. Neither moved, the sheets didn't even move from the stiff breathing the being across from me was forcing out of itself.

I was on my knees now, still staring wide-eyed into the room, my hands still holding tightly to the frame of the door.

Finally, after what seemed like forever. The being under the sheets moved, and I gasped as I gazed at her.

She had short black hair, and her deep blue eyes shimmered in the light that flooded from the doorway.

"Who are you?" She asked quietly, her eyes full of wonder, despite the fact that she was an adult.

I didn't dare move, not even my eyes shifted their gaze for fear of her.

"I-I'm Akito. . .Akito Sohma. . ." I replied quietly, my voice barely audible, but she heard me all the same.

She nodded, as if she had guessed, and let the sheets smother her to the ground again.

"Well, we had to meet something." She said simply, brushing back her bangs from her forehead with one hand.

She sighed exhaustedly and let the bangs fall back to their place.

She turned back onto her elbows and smiled happily at me, shifting the sheets so that she could get out. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Akito Akito Sohma. I'm Arisu Sohma."

She got to her feet, the long night dress swirling about her feet as she walked across the floor and got a long robe from a hook and placed it on herself.

She smiled at me as she turned again. "Will you accompany me to breakfast young Akito Akito?"

I finally moved, coming out of the stunned daze I had been in. Was she. . .was she smiling at me?

I got to my feet, but still clung to the door like that was the only way I could stay on my feet.

"Actually, it's just Akito Sohma. It's nice to meet you Arisu-san." Ack! What was I thinking?! Why was I addressing her by her first name already?!

I mentally kicked myself, but I think she knew why my eyes squinted shut and my cheeks burned. She smiled and chuckled as she swept forward.

"Well, then, Akito-kun, will you accompany me to breakfast?" She bent and smiled at me, one hand sticking out, waiting for me to grasp it.

I felt the muscles around my mouth twitch into an unfamiliar position. It felt strange, but it seemed to match the sudden leaping feeling in my heart.

I noticed that the skin around my eyes had crinkled so that they were almost shut, and that they sparkled like hers did.

I was smiling for the first time in my life.

My hand moved forward and grasped her warm hand tightly. "Yes, Sohma- san. I would be honored to go to breakfast with you."

She laughed, and I felt glad that I had used the right phrase. For some reason, I wanted to impress this woman that I knew nothing of but her name.

Arisu Sohma.

What a lovely woman.

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Ok, this is NOT a Mary-Sue in any way, shape, or form. This is simply my own guess at what the Curse is, if someone bore the curse before Akito, and if so, how that person affected his life. And I think that the curse was probably passed to him at his birth, but for this story, the curse could not be passed so soon without the person I am trying to portray dying in the process.

Hey, I was listening to my Fruits Basket English CD (got it at Suncoast Video) and heard Track 13, (which is called "Strange Family" or something to that effect), and immediately started to think about making a fic that dealt with Akito's past. ^_^ So, if you have this CD, it may become useful in later chapters if there are later chapters that is.

Ok, if there are any questions, feel free to ask me. Though, I do not know what happens past the anime and the second volume of the manga. (As this story is being written, only volume 1 and 2 of the manga exist in an English format and I do not read Japanese.)

Depending upon the success of this first chapter, I may or may not make more. It all depends on the reviewers. ^_^

Anyway, thanks for reading, and please review it. ^_^ Well, ja.

Review please!!