Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Hana's Essay ❯ The Essay ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Hana's Essay
Author: annonymouse
Summary: Hanajima Saki is given an assignment for class. She ponders on the deeper meaning of the colour of love.
Disclaimer: If I owned Furuba, there would be more yummy Shigure evilness and cute Haru blandness.
Author's Notes: Dedicated to DarkWings for letting me use the 'essay' idea.

*

The day started out just like any other day. Hanajima Saki sighed, she was getting tired again. And getting tired was not good.

Getting tired means her mental defences tune down. It means she can distinctly feel emotions rise and fall around her. Getting tired means that it was harder to control her powers.

The walk to school seemed long and slow. Then again it might be because she felt extremely sluggish. Her mother, who noticed her daughter's eyes had offered to take her to school. She had declined, thinking about her smaller sisters who looked at her with their wide eyes.

She stopped in her tracks when a piece of newspaper flew with the wind and landed lightly in her hands.

A boy no older than seventeen was found dead yesterday in a high school. His cause of death was of an overdose on drugs. The police say it might be suicide. Sources say, he died because of a girl who dumped him. The police are…

Hanajima gently put the paper back down on the road. She didn't want to read anymore.

It seemed such a pointless death. But of course, some might say that death because of love is better than some meaningless car crash. She disagreed with both thoughts. Human life was too precious, death was meaningless either way. Except of course if it was of natural causes.

Her thoughts were bleak and dreary today. So unlike the bright sunshine that it hurt. Hanajima had always wondered why she was different. Why she was cursed with the gift of perceptiveness. A sharp sense that tingled down her spine everytime she opened her eyes. Sometimes she wished she was just the same as everyone else.

Suddenly, the slight girl winced. She pushed herself to keep walking even as the force of someone's pain pushed down on her.

A young woman walked by, her head bent down low. Hanajima knew it was that particular person who were sending these painful waves. Flashes of hurt invaded her mind, thirst for revenge on a cheating lover, pain of betrayal. She was overwhelmed.

This was not the first time she had been attacked unintentionally. Slowly she built her walls again. Forcing the image of bricks to build around her mind's ears and eyes. A trickle of calm came to her.

She shook herself awake. If she was weak for even one moment, she would break. Getting tired was just not a possibility for her. She tried to keep her mind on track and thought about school.

Her grades were satisfactorily average and she might have to do some make up exams for some of her subjects. Maybe if she tried harder, she'd fail everything again. It wasn't that she was a stupid girl it was just… what she wanted.

Her mind drifted to an essay the teacher gave.

*

"Right, homework for tomorrow. I want you to write an essay in English, about…"

"Love!" a girl shouted out. Uo snorted disgustedly. It was typical of a member of the Prince Yuki Fan Club to suggest ridiculous things. Hanajima just raised her eyebrows in amusement at her friend.

"Well, I was going to say something else… But seeing as you only write good essays on things you're interested in… How about you write an essay on… The colour of love."

A chorus of loud groans could be heard from the male population as some girls squealed in delight.

*

Hanajima didn't exactly like the idea, but it was to say the least… interesting. She imagined most of the answers would correspond with soft pastel colours and flowery hues. After all, someone had once said that flowers were the language of love, or was it something else? She never really paid attention to those nonsensical sayings.

She overheard her classmate immediately whisper 'pale pink'. She had started puking silently inside. Love… Love was not soft. It wasn't flowers and hearts. If love was a colour, it was going to be black.

At least it was in her opinion.

Memories of other people's emotions flooded her as she said the words softly to herself.

Love was black because it's all that is left once it leaves. A never ending void of darkness.

An opaque shade of black for sorrow and hurt carved into you from unfaithful love.

An inky shade, left swirling inside of you because of the longing from unrequited love.

A soft sooty sort of black, like the warm winter nights that wraps you up in it's embrace, rocking you to sleep. Comfortable and safe even if it was kinda scary.

Love is the colour of a silky and winding black vine, gently enfolding and forcefully throttling you with dread and longing.

Love is black because it is both passionate and painful. Cold and warm. Contrasting it's own existence depending on how you looked at it.

Love is black because black is the most beautiful colour on earth.

*

Mayuko-sensei sighed as she looked at the pile of papers in her hands. She regretted giving her students the assignment. Her students' papers had handed in either a barely filled page or a page too full with elaborate words to describe what they were thinking, both types didn't make sense. Full of grammar mistakes and spellings that she thought her class had already learnt.

She stretched slowly. One last paper to mark. A smile of amusement lit her face as she read Hanajima Saki's paper. One of the shortest piece but definitely the most amusing.

"Love is pink. Or red. Or white. I can't decide. Probably red. Why? Because Hallmark says so, they always use red for their love-themed cards."

Mayuko-sensei laughed. Tomorrow she would have to have a talk with her student.

~End~

Yes, it is short. I hope you liked it!