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kammieceleek · 3 years

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Cat's Bride Chapter One.

Tohru Honda always heard her classmates and cousin talking about the game Zodiac Lover. She was always more fascinated by the talk of a supposed impossible route in the game that broke everything if you tried to go down it. But she never played it.

Yet, when she dies in a freak traffic accident, she finds herself in the world of the game. She learns how to survive, and then she meets the one known as 'the most cursed of all'. And this was the one route in the game that she was the only person to take.

******

The prison was a dark and damp place.

She let out a shuddering sigh as she descended the staircase underground. She didn't care for how dirty it was, or the dampness that seemed to seep into her bones whenever she stayed down there too long. But she kept coming back every day because of the one prisoner held there, one who was said to be too dangerous for the outside world and needed to be kept far away from everyone.

She stumbled on the last step, catching herself before she hit the stone floor. Her eyes began to adjust to the dim light, and they landed on the young man in a cage before her. He lifted his head, his dull eyes brightening upon seeing her and he sat upright.

"You're back," he breathed.

"I always come back. Didn't I promise that?"

"Y-yeah, but a lot of people promise things and don't follow through." He turned away from her, and even in the dim lamplight she could see a blush on his cheeks.

He's so cute.

"Well, why'd you come? I already ate today, and cleaning's pointless."

"I came to spend time with you." She sat with her back against the cage. Vaguely, she heard him moving to put his back against hers as much as he could through the bars.

"You didn't have to come. I'd be fine on my own."

"But then you'd be lonely, and I'd be sad." He mumbled something under his breath.

"Do you… feel sorry for me? Is it pity?"

"It's hard not to pity someone who's living in a cage. But that's not why I keep coming back." She smiled even though she knew he couldn't see it. "You're kind, Kyo, whether you know it or not. You aren't a monster or a creature. You're a person, and one day… you'll walk out of here. And I'll be right beside you when it happens."

"Tohru…" His voice was breaking. She slipped a hand through the bars and his fingers linked with hers. Despite the chill, his hands were warm and she felt much less tired than she had when she'd made the journey down here.

They were silent for a moment.

"…I love you." His voice was almost inaudible, but she heard it.

"…I love you, too." She could feel his hand tighten around hers and her heart ached. This wasn't his fault. He shouldn't have been down there.

But he was the Cat, and to the Somas, that made him guilty.

They sat there, just being in each other's presence, not knowing how much time was passing. Eventually, he pulled his hand away.

"You should get back to the damn Dog's house," he said hoarsely, as if he were holding back tears. "They'll notice if you're gone too long."

"I'll come back." They turned to face each other and Kyo leaned forward. She followed suit, and their lips met between the bars.

I will come back. I had to come from another world to meet you, and I'm not letting you go. Not now, and not until there's no possible way for me to stand beside you.

She stood up and started walking towards the stairs. Before she reached the top, she cast one last longing look towards him. His eyes were on her, full of the same desire to be near her.

Then she was out in the moonlight, alone again.

Tohru Honda was used to being alone.

She'd lost her parents in an accident when she was in her first year of high school, and her grandfather had passed not long after. She'd been left to move in with her Aunt Yuna and cousins Kaori and Goro, none of whom were particularly fond of her. So she'd been left alone going through high school. She hadn't had any close friends, only being acquaintances with most of her classmates.

Back then, she'd tried her best to go along to get along. And on that note, many of her classmates had been obsessed with an otome called Zodiac Lover. She often listened to their conversations, and bits and pieces of the game caught her interest. Though it wasn't enough to get her to actually play it, it was fun to hear them all be so excited over people who didn't even really exist.

More than anything about the game, she was interested in an apparent glitched route within it. There was a character who, at first glance, appeared to be the tenth route in the game; however, whenever a player attempted to go down said route, the game would glitch and break until you restarted it. Then things would go back to normal. Kaori played it, too, and she complained that the developer needed to patch it out (whatever that meant) rather than leave it in. Rumors abounded as to the identity of this character, but Tohru graduated high school and moved out of her aunt's house and that was the last she ever heard of the game.

Then, one day, she was on her way to work.

It wasn't a normal day. Part of her wished she'd taken the day off, but rent would be due soon and she needed all the hours she could get. It marked five years since her parents had died in that accident, a train derailment that had claimed the lives of so many others. She'd go visit their graves after her shift, and then go see her grandfather's.

Would they be proud of me?

The rain poured down around her, making her feel sleepy and wish she'd stayed home even more.

She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't hear the screeching tires or the screaming of people telling her to get out of the way until it was too late. The headlights shone in her eyes and she squeezed them shut out of reflex. The pain was immediate as she flew through the air and hit the ground. She knew before anybody started tending to her that this was it. She was dying. Tohru Honda was going to be dead at the age of twenty without anyone to truly mourn her passing.

At the very least, she'd see her parents and grandfather again soon.

Y̴͚̺͊o̵̲͉͐͝ŭ̸͚.̸̜̈͝

…me?

Y̸̥̓̚o̴̥͋͜u̵͙͝'̷̯̪͘r̷͖̝͐ȩ̴͝͝ ̶̦̈́͋ť̷̺̬ȟ̵͎͊ȅ̵̹͌ ̵̢͐̌o̵̡̬͠n̵͉̎͛ͅe̵̹͓͂.̴͎͆͜

S̸͚͝a̷̗v̷̢̔e̷͉̎ ̵̻ḥ̵̇i̶̘͂m̴͕̔.̴̮͌

Save him!

Who are you?

He needs you. You need to find him before it's too late.

Who? Who needs me?

The most cursed of them all.

Tohru gasped as she opened her eyes.

To her shock, she was no longer lying in a puddle on the street. Instead she was kneeling in the hallway of a house of some kind. She certainly didn't recognize it… nor did she recognize the clothes she was wearing. Gone was her work uniform, and in its place was some kind of old-fashioned kimono. Like she was a maid in one of those awful dramas her aunt had watched near-religiously every day that she could remember.

"Honda!"

She jumped at the sudden yell of her last name and looked to see another woman in a matching uniform. The woman was older with graying streaks in her honey-brown hair, and she was clearly not pleased with Tohru.

"S-sorry!" Tohru gasped. "I'm so sorry!"

"Sorry won't get this place cleaned! The master's coming home today, and this house needs to be spotless before he does!"

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"Honestly, I don't know why the Somas even hired you. Lazy, good-for-nothing girl…"

Tohru felt her heart racing.

She'd never heard of the Somas before. They certainly weren't her employers. What was…?

Soma.

The name did ring out as familiar in her head. She tried her best to remember, and that was when she could see the name written on the screen of her cousin's tablet as she played out a game. And this same uniform, on a character in that same game that had enraptured so many girls her age.

She didn't want to believe it. But there was only one way to be sure.

Taking a deep breath, she smacked her cheeks in an effort to wake herself up. It didn't work. She was still there. Her eyes went to the bucket and rag before her, and to the dirty floor. Well, if she was stuck here, she might as well do something that was at least mildly familiar. She got to work, scrubbing the floor like she did back home and before too long it was as spotless as her apparent superior had wanted. The older woman returned and nodded.

"Good. I see you just need a bit of encouragement."

"Yes, ma'am. I promise I won't slack off again." It was just like dealing with her boss at work. Then again, this woman was her boss now.

"Good girl. Don't forget to wash up before you make the master's dinner. He's having a guest tonight." The woman gestured down the hall towards what was most definitely a kitchen.

Tohru nodded in confirmation and stood up, taking the bucket with her. She glanced down and realized that while her clothes and location had changed, her face was the same. How was this possible? She couldn't remember if there was ever a character like this in the actual game. Kaori would know, but Kaori wasn't there.

She let out a sigh and headed towards where her boss had pointed. The kitchen was largely empty, save for the ingredients, and she felt that sense of familiarity she had while cleaning. This was something else she could do. Cooking was one of her favorite ways to pass the time, and she hadn't cooked for someone else since she'd moved out of her aunt's house. So rather than dread or confusion, she felt excited.

I have to make the most of this until I find out what's going on.

Save him.

That voice again. The one that had spoken when she was struck by the car. Who did she need to save? Who were they talking about?

She shook her head. Right now, she had to cook dinner for the house's master and his guest, whoever they might be.

She rolled up her sleeves and got to work chopping vegetables. Everything was so similar to back home that it was startling. Sure, the tools were a little less sophisticated but they did the jobs they needed to do. And even though she'd never worked with a stove or oven like the ones they had here, she already knew that those kinds of things tended to do what they wanted depending on age or use, so she knew to check them often to make sure nothing burned and everything cooked properly.

"Tohru!"

She turned around to see another young woman in a maid's uniform entering the kitchen. The newcomer had golden blonde hair and she was taller than most of the people Tohru had ever known.

"Hi!" Tohru greeted her.

"Man, Hamasaki put you on this by yourself again? You've got to stop being such a pushover."

"I know, but… cooking's so easy! And it's fun!"

"If you say so. I just came to see if you needed a hand."

"I won't say no to some help! Could you put those veggies in the pot, please?"

"No problem."

Tohru suddenly felt awful. Obviously this girl was her friend, but she didn't even know her name! How terrible must she look to this person?

"Um… this is going to sound really dumb, but… who are you?"

"Jeez, cleaning duty's gotten to you. I'm Arisa Uotani. We've been friends since we got here?"

"Right! Sorry, Uo-chan!" The name slipped out so easily, as if she'd been calling the other girl that for years.

"It's all right. Hanajima and I know how spacey you get."

Spacey? Then… this Tohru Honda really is me?!

"So, er, do you know anything about the master's guest?"

"Not much. He's supposed to be a member of the main family, just like Shigure. All I know is he's supposed to be a real prince of a character."

"Oh, really? Well, thank you for your help. I've got it from here, if Hamasaki has anything else she needed you to do…?"

"Yeah, thanks. I'll see you later."

Shigure's the master of the house. I think he was Kaori's favorite route in the game. But a prince… I know who it is. Nobody would stop talking about him in school. It's Yuki. It's got to be.

There was no doubt in her mind now. She was in the world of Zodiac Lover, and as it stood, she had no way out.

#fruits basket #fruba #kyoru fanfic #kyo soma #tohru honda #kyo x tohru #fruba fanfic #my project is here!

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