A Shadow’s Heart

Prologue- Heart of Snow 

By Yuna

December 2002

Disclaimer: Kagura, Kyou, and all Fruits Basket characters belong to Takaya Natsuki, not me!

Note: This fic is based on the storyline of the anime series, not the manga. However, I will use a little bit of information from the manga about some of the character’s pasts in order to make my story more complete. Still, this fic starts sometime during the beginning of the anime tv series and continues on after the series ended, so thus there will be some major spoilers about the anime series! Please read with caution. Enjoy! ^.^

Beautiful crystal snowflakes fell from the winter sky, coating the ground with a gentle sheet of white snow. A little boy of about seven years of age sat on the cold earth, holding in his tiny hand his newest toy— a bright red airplane with shiny wings. Despite the endless falling of snow, he continued to maneuver his plane in the air, making random, inventive patterns through the sky such as figure eights and zigzag movements. A large, genuine smile adorned his adorable face as he played with his prized possession. His round cheeks were flushed pink, a sign that his body was cold, even if his spirit certainly wasn’t diminished at all from the frosty weather.

The streets were lonely and empty, for the weather was too bitter and frigid that no one wanted to play in the usually crowded public park. Families were snuggled together in their warm, cozy homes, laughing and talking, sharing exaggerated stories, gobbling delicious meals, and giving each other presents for the Holiday.

However, there was another person out on that chilly night. A little girl with short brown hair no more than a year or two older than the young boy was hiding behind a tall brilliantly lighted tree. She had slipped into one of her fanciest dresses, a lovely sea green dress that had short peasant sleeves and was so long that it reached her ankles. She had tied a deep emerald ribbon around her waist and worn a silver heart locket around her neck. She spied on the boy, watching him play with his new toy enviously.

“Kyou-kun,” She whispered softly so that he couldn’t hear her. “I guess you won’t need my Christmas gift after all…” She clutched a small box wrapped in red and gold paper tightly. “And I saved up all of my allowance money for this. I really thought it would make you happy…”

The young boy brushed back a frosty orange bang from his face. A large snowflake fell on his nose, making him frown. He growled under his breath and picked it up and popped it into his mouth, tasting it. He stood up and pointed to the winter sky, shouting playfully, “I defeated you, snow!” He laughed cockily, showing off his cute fanged tooth.

The little girl couldn’t help but giggle. “Kyou-kun… You are so silly!” She covered her mouth with her hand shyly as she tried not to laugh too hard. Then a snowflake fell on her nose, just like it did to Kyou. “Look! It’s just like what happened to Kyou-kun! That makes us one and the same! That just proves that we’re meant to be together!” Stars filled her chocolate brown eyes as she watched the boy in front of her as he resumed playing with his airplane. She knelt on the ground and used her finger to trace the words “Kyou-kun + Kagura 4-ever!” in the fresh snow. She beamed with pleasure as she stared at it, but after a few moments the newly fallen snow covered up the writing until it vanished completely.

Her smile faded instantly. She looked pensively at Kyou and sighed softly. “But… if we’re meant to be together, why does Kyou-kun run away from me whenever I try to get close to him?”

She clasped a small hand over her silver heart locket, holding it tight as she turned her eyes towards the sparkling stars and moon in the sky.

“Kyou-kun… I love you…”

The tears that fell from her eyes froze into miniature, shining snowflakes.

Not too far away, another young boy was hiding behind a different tree. His hair was as white as the soft snow coating the ground, and his deep brown eyes were fixed on the young girl. However, he couldn’t see her tears because of the distance between them.

He smiled sweetly and said, “What a cute girl…”

~To be continued…~

P.S. So, what did you think? I’m sorry that it was so short and that I posted it so late on Christmas Day! Well, I hope you enjoyed it and that you’ll stick around for the rest of my story! ^.^