The Puppet Master's Last Testament (Fruits Basket FanFiction)

Chapter 9: Legend of the Streets

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Fruits Basket.

What does it take to set the Sohmas free after Akito's death?

Warning: Mild angst. Read at your own risk.

The Puppet Master's Last Testament

Chapter Nine:

Legend of the Streets

Shigure ran all over the street that he thought Tohru had run toward. He looked inside every store, every nook and cranny, and asked every storekeeper.

It was useless.

No one saw her.

Shigure didn't even realize the legend that this street was known for. If one's lover was lost her, and they found each other, they were destined for love. But if one didn't find his/her partner, their future would be doomed to fail, to be fraught with pain and agony until death. Long ago, a fair peasant girl had fallen in love with a handsome boy from an aristocratic family. They had fallen in love, but were destined to be apart because of their social standings- diamonds and rubies versus coal and hay. Did it matter?

Not to them. Not one bit. They spent their days dreaming, planning, laughing, teaching, playing, teasing. They were inseparable.

When the wealthy family found out about there son's plan to marry her, they sent out everyone to stop it. Relatives were willing to get their hands bloodied to stop it from happening. They were willing to kill.

The two lovers ran, hand in hand, across the land, until at last, they parted in a poor city to prevent them from being found together and punished.

The boy had told his 'ai' to wait for him in this area, before all the streets were created. The area was barren and unknown. A foreign land. Thieves and vagrants roamed the land, and did whatever they pleased, but it was the only place the boy's family would not look; for they did not 'mingle' with the poor. But they could not hide forever. She came up with a plan. She would hide in the old mill. He would return to his family and tell them that she had died, or make up a story to turn their heads. And then, he would return, and they would run away together.

He fled across the lands, miles and miles through forests, streams, and battlefields. He told his family a lie, and they made peace. A week later, he was gone. He didn't take any jewels or money. He didn't need anything, except his lady's love and his own determination.

He fought his way back to the city. Rivals of his family had wounded him on his way there, but he would stop at nothing, except death.

He would do anything to find her. He loved her.

She waited, and waited, and waited. She stayed in the ancient mill, except to find leftover foods and take a shower. She had been attacked by vagrants, but nothing pained her. Nothing could, after she had built the wall around her unwavering love for him. She spent the weeks dreaming. Dreaming of a future with him. Hoping that he was safe.

He finally arrived.

But all did not end 'happily ever after'.

No one knows if they escaped to the countryside, or if they died in the big fire set by vagrants during a bonfire that night. But one thing is know, nothing could keep the two lovers apart from each other.

They were together.

Shigure wasn't ready to give up.

The morning turned to afternoon, and the afternoon turned to night. Shigure didn't eat anything. A big surprise.