Title: Sky Blue

Author: Akito no K-Chan

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket is Natsuki Takaya's and I don't want to change that, so I don't write this for money.

Summary: When Shigure is alone at home, he just can't write. But his way of distracting sends him into a bit of a problem.

Note: Inspired by Ritsuko Okazaki's song "Sky Blue" from the furuba image-album "Four Seasons". Part of my little project-thingy of writing a one-shot for each one of the songs. I tried to make the atmosphere close to the lyrics.

SnoFlurri-chan told me that we often forget that Shigure is still human. I think, I exaggerated.

What do you think about it? Would you tell me in a review, please?

Ah, a quiet house! Wasn't this wonderful? Shoving aside his suspicions that it would not stay quiet for too long, Shigure sat down to work on his manuscript, trying hard to find a continuation of those lines he had done yesterday. He liked them and – anyway, he couldn't think of a way to express what he meant other than this.

Getting along quite slowly – fifteen lines of dialogue in half an hour – however, he grow increasingly frustrated. When there was time and peace in this house, he never got done much. How he hated living here! After some more unsuccessful tries, he gave up on the manuscript for the time being.

"It's a shame, really", he muttered. "If I don't get it done in time…" Shaking his head, he stood up and left his room. Maybe it would help to get his mind concerned with totally different things.

"Oh, but what to do? Ha-san's got his patients and A-Ya's got his shop." Not to think of Akito-san, who would rather kill herself than see him these days. He had been foolish enough to underestimate the influence of the constant rain on her mood two days ago and had carried away a nice scratch on his cheek for being both too witty and too careless.

"Stupid", she had called him afterwards, when he had been starring at her in shock; she hadn't done anything to harm him in months before that. "Why did you come here, anyway?" she had asked and told him that he was not wanted.

So he could hardly go there either.

With a frustrated growl he took a glass out of the nearest cupboard and poured himself some water, sitting down on the couch and sipping at it. Sometimes looking through some old photographs would help him to calm down, so he could continue his work. He decided to give it a try.

"So, where did I hide them? Upstairs." He skipped over to where the album was placed between several old novels to be out of view. "Here you are!" He took it out, barely noticing that there were some loose pictures in the album, and walked downwards again.

"Ah, right! A-Ya, you mean boy!" he laughed, looking at the pictures and remembering stories behind them. "That was really a bit much, don't you agree? And this, too." His smile faded, however, with the next picture, being replaced by an "Oh" that then turned into a sad look as he remembered the conversation taking place, before the picture had been taken.

It was one of a small child, smiling slightly towards the camera, although the child had been crying only moments ago. At that day, he had pretty much wanted to kill Ren for what she had done to her daughter. For calling her daughter an ugly, disgusting something and then hitting her. He now wondered if Akira-san had ever known of this. Would he have loved Ren that much afterwards, if he knew?

Anger rose inside of him; such a sweet little girl, how could her mother have done such cruel things? Twisting her child like that?

How much his hands were shaking, Shigure only realised when the photograph fell from his fingers. Hissing, he bent down, accidentally knocking over the album, so that it fell to the floor, all loose pictures lying all over the room. "Great, really, Shigure!" Luckily, the windows were closed, so that none flew outside.

Now he had to gather them back together, what a great deal! This day just wasn't his… At all: That was a picture of the both of them, at about her age of ten, not long before the first incident with Kureno, as Shigure had learnt only recently. She was cuddled up in his arms, head lent back against his shoulder, smiling in a mix of happiness and pride of her pet dog.

Shigure felt a tear trickling down his cheek, then another. If only he could go back to that moment, correcting all his little mistakes. When he sank down to his knees, he was already crying, unable to stop, no matter what he might try to hold back the tears. Just why was his chest feeling as though it would be exploding every moment now from the rapid heartbeat?

-o-o-

It was already darkening, when Toru came home that evening. The boys were at the dojo, probably fighting right now, and in the meantime Toru was determined to get them something to eat.

"Konbanwa! Shigure-san, are you home?" She sat down her shoes and entered the living room, but backed out almost instantly. What she had just seen could not be true. "Shigure-san? What is wrong with you? Did something happen?"

The man, sitting on the floor in the middle of photographs lying all over the floor near the table, looked up. Toru swallowed; His eyes held desperation. His face was reddened and it was obvious that he had been crying.

"Shigure-san, what happened to you? Why have you been crying?"

"I wasn't", he said in a totally oblivious voice that really gave away nothing. "Why would I be crying, Toru-kun?" His lips moved up into a fake smile, but Toru saw him trembling. She moved closer, kneeling down in front of the man and touched his cheeks with her hands. The touch didn't last two seconds before Shigure's mask broke away. "I-I don't understand anymore – I – used to understand – don't – can't anymore – I don't – left – but I-I don' understand…" He stared at her wide-eyed, as though he didn't know who she was.

"Shigure-san? Do you want me to call Hatori-san?" There was a long silence, however, before he answered, shaking his head slightly.

"No, I don't think so. Toru-kun…" His eyes suddenly darted to the side, surprising her. But he only reached out for the pictures, taking some of them in his hand.

"You – You don't need to, Shigure-san. I'll get them and bring them up to your room, if you want, so you can sit and calm down" He shook his head again.

"Really, there's no need for that." She looked at his face as he collected the photographs. Reaching out for one of them however, Toru got her arm pressed down to the floor in a really painful manner. Shigure's face was unmoving. "I said don't."

"I'm sorry", she breathed as he let go of her arm. She didn't dare moving from her spot the rest of the time he needed to get all the photographs and put them into the album.

"I'll go to my room now", he informed her, when he stepped over to the stairs, looking back shortly. "I don't want you to follow me. And sorry for being so harsh with you."

Her gaze followed him as he walked upwards, and something dropped into her mind. "But, Shigure-san! What did happen in the first place?" she called after him, not really expecting any answer at all. He wouldn't disappoint her.

"None of your business, Toru-kun, as much as I hate to admit this."

-o-o-

A blurry person – or something else – stood in front of him, and Shigure frowned. Why was something telling him to reach out? He tried to raise his hand, but found he couldn't.

"Drifting away." What? What was drifting away? "Getting weaker all the time."

"Ha-san! Hatori, what are you talking about?" he cried, but there was no answer.

"Stay with me!"

"Yes."

"Don't leave me."

"No." The figure was fading and, all of a sudden, Shigure's heart started beating in his throat. "No, don't – don't go! Akito-san!" He woke up from his own shout, hand outstretched, eyes opened wide. It felt as though his chest was about to burst. "Akito-san…"

Tears were streaming down his face again, leaving nothing but a blurred room in front of his eyes. What had just happened? Had it been a dream? A vision? Did it really happen? "Akito-san, what-? Where are you?" Of course, there was no answer to his questions.

He knew this, though. Reality crashed down on him. He knew this feeling of infinite love. It had been his goddess calling for him, like that day so many years ago. How could he ever forget?

"Never…. I'll never leave you…" slowly, he sat up, wiping away the tears, shaking his head. "I'll never leave you, you've been the one to leave." He winced at his aching head, lowering his face into his hands. "How ever you could…"

No, what was wrong with him? He shouldn't be this sentimental, melancholic, or he would get nowhere. Why the hell could he not stop crying? He was so stupid right now!

"But I won't leave you. We'll be together again, I swore and I swear it."

The old photograph next to his futon, still drenched in tears, he took hold of.

"I swear: You'll be mine. We'll be together again and you'll smile only for me."

– Owari –