Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Divine Intervention ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. Can I borrow Black Haru for a little while, though?

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Chapter 5:

Hatori pulled the car into the driveway and turned it off. Before Tohru could try and get out herself, Hatori had come around to her door and was lifting her out of the vehicle. "You'll need resist using that arm for several days until it's completely healed. If you strain it too much, you could make it worse and possibly inflict permanent muscle damage. I've already told Yuki and Kyou to make sure that you heed those instructions."

Yuki had walked over to them and was nodding with Hatori's command. "Yes, Honda-san. Leave everything up to me. I won't have you hurting yourself further."

"Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun are too good to me!" Tohru smiled at Yuki and turned to share the smile with Kyou, but he wasn't out of the car yet. She peered around Yuki and saw that Kyou was fast asleep, his head resting on the window. "Eh? Oh no!" Tohru became panicked. "Poor Kyou-kun stayed up all night worrying about me and now he's asleep in the car! What are we going to do?!?" She began running around in a frenzied little circle.

Hatori halted her with his voice. "Tohru! This isn't doing you any good. If Kyou stayed up all night after I told him it was unnecessary then he's the only one to blame if he sleeps all day."

"I'm sorry, Hatori-san. I shouldn't have run around like that right after you told me to be careful of my arm. But what are we going to do about Kyou-kun? We can't just wake him up!" Tohru looked mollified at the thought of waking a sleeping person.

"That baka neko can't sleep in Hatori's car all day." Yuki was angry that Tohru worried so much about that stupid Cat's feelings and even angrier that he was jealous. Without another word, he opened the car door, causing Kyou to fall onto the driveway with a thud.

"Oi! What the hell are you doing, kuso nezumi?" Kyou pushed himself off the ground and shook his head vigorously, trying to wake up. "You gonna start fights while I'm sleeping now?" Kyou jutted out his lower jaw, clenched his fists, and leaned into Yuki's face.

Hatori interrupted before the fight escalated. "Both of you assured me that you could hold back your tempers until Shigure got back. If you can't even make it into the house without an altercation then I'm afraid I'll just have to take Tohru back to the Honke with me." 'That ought to get through to them,' he thought. It did. They began yelling at him over each other.

"Hatori, you wouldn't dare take Honda-san back there."

"Try, it! I didn't start that fight anyway! That damn Rat did!"

"Fine. Kyou, why don't you go take a nap? And try not to be in such a horrible mood when you wake up next time. Yuki, stay with Honda-kun. Why don't you make her something to eat?" Without waiting for their answers, he got in his car and drove away.

"I'm going to bed!" Kyou stormed off into the house, slamming the door as he went.

Tohru seemed to be in a trance, her face was frozen in hysteria. "Honda-san?" Yuki gently laid a hand on her good arm.

"Ah! Oh, Yuki-kun." At least her trance had gone. The hysteria remained, though.

"Let's go inside, Honda-san." Yuki moved his hand to between her shoulder blades and guided her into the house. "Don't worry about him. Are you hungry for lunch?" Yuki had no intention of cooking anything ever.

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Yuki and Tohru sat at the table eating their bento boxes. Yuki had finally convinced Tohru that he wanted to buy her lunch and that it was no trouble. He scoffed at himself mentally. He was becoming so gullible when it came to her that he had even bought Kyou lunch so she wouldn't worry about him starving. So far the Cat hadn't woken up, though, so his waited for him in the refrigerator. "Are you excited that high school is almost over, Honda-san?"

"Huh?" Tohru looked up from her food. "Oh, well I guess so. I just hope I can graduate and make Mom proud."

"You've passed all of your midterms this year, right? I'll help you study more if you're worried."

"Thank you, Yuki-kun. I think I'm just nervous because it's almost over. I haven't even thought about what to do afterwards." Tohru shut her mouth with a click. Neither Yuki nor Kyou had very bright futures, so Tohru tried not to talk about what would happen after school was over. "I'm sorry, Yuki-kun. I know you don't like to talk about going back to live in the main house."

Yuki smiled at Tohru's bowed head. She always tried so hard not to say anything to upset anyone. "It's okay, Honda-san. Shigure, Hatori, and even my brother have gone on to the careers they wanted despite the curse. I'm sure I will find something like they have. Besides, I've grown up knowing what life was going to be like for me, staying close to the Honke and keeping the family private."

Tohru lifted her head slightly to look at Yuki's face. "But Yuki-kun, you always talk about how much you want to get away from the main house?and Akito-san."

Sighing, Yuking looked intently into Tohru's eyes. "Yes, it was something I wanted to get away from my whole life. I dreamt of the day when I could run away or that the curse would be broken, but I never actually ran away and I never really tried to break the curse."

Now Tohru was even more confused. "But why, Yuki-kun? Did you just give up?"

"No, Honda-san, it's not like that. I never did those things because I think I always knew deep down that it wasn't possible. If I ran, Akito would find me, and no one has broken the curse in all the generations that it has passed down through our family. Remember that night in the woods, what I said to Kyou?" Tohru looked down at her hands, unsure of how to answer that. They tried never to bring that up. Yuki leaned his head closer to hers and continued. "I said that I didn't want to run anymore, and it's true. I can't run and likely the curse won't be broken. All I can do, then, is live my life the best that I can. Akito will never let me be as free as Shigure or Ayame, because of his feelings towards me, but I have to make the most of whatever he gives me."

Tohru couldn't fully comprehend the level of Yuki's sacrifice, but she knew this was a huge decision for him. "Won't you be sad, though, Yuki-kun? Do you really mean all those things?"

"Yes, Honda-san. I've been thinking about this for a year now. You're the first person that knows how I feel about it, and probably the only one I'll tell, because you're the reason that I changed my mind." Tohru blushed and looked away. How could she be the reason for Yuki-kun to do something like that? "Listen to me, Honda-san. These have been the best years of my life, spent with you in this house. If I can have these memories of you when I go back to the Honke, then life will never be sad for me, no matter what Akito does."

To Yuki's surprise, Tohru burst into tears and clutched onto his arm, strangling it in the only type of hug they could share. She was so relieved at those words, even if they crushed her heart. She didn't ever want to leave Yuki or Kyou.

"Honda-san, what's wrong? Please don't cry." Yuki awkwardly patted her head, waiting for an answer.

"It's nothing. I can't talk about it," she sobbed into his arm. Yuki was puzzled at her response. Tohru was the person who could get you to talk about anything. She didn't say things like 'I can't talk about it.'

In a rush, the events of the day before came to his mind. This definitely had to do with Akito. "Honda-san! What did he say to you?" She just shook her head. This was really making him mad. "Did he tell you not to say anything about it?" Her lack of reaction gave her away. "Honda-san! He can't tell you what to do. You're not a Jyuunishi. Whatever it was he said to you, it's only meant to hurt you. That's the way he works, by brainwashing and manipulation. What did he say to you?!" Damnit, if he said something so terrible that she was acting like this?.

"He- he said that if your lives are sad it's my fault." Tohru felt sick at the idea of disobeying Akito, but if Yuki meant what he said, then Akito was wrong. She hoped that Akito was wrong.

"Why?" How could Tohru make him sad? She only made him happy.

"He said that he lets me live here to punish you, so you'll be more sad when you have to go back to live with him." Tohru closed her eyes tightly, not wanting to look at Yuki's face right then.

"But I don't understand, Honda-san. What does that mean?"

"It's because you'll have happiness to compare your life with, and it will be worse for you when you're Akito-san's. I'm so sorry, Yuki-kun. I didn't mean to hurt you or Kyou-kun. I wish I had never come to live here, so you wouldn't be sad." Tohru slipped from Yuki's arm as he abruptly stood up. Mouth hanging open in shock, he left her sitting there crying and walked numbly to his secret base.

Ripping the strawberry plants from the ground, Yuki hurled them at a nearby tree. "How could you do this to her?!" he screamed. Tears welled in his eyes as he walked over to lean against the tree, sliding down to sit at its base.

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Kyou walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. 'Ah, lunch!' he thought, looking at the bento box. His stomach was protesting the length of time since breakfast. Carrying the food into the dining room, he was startled to see Tohru sobbing on the floor. "Tohru?" She didn't even look at him. "What did that damn Rat do to you?!?" Still no response. He didn't care what Hatori said, this called for a fight. "Stay there. I'll be right back." He knew where he could find that bastard, and he'd make him pay for this.

Approaching Yuki in the garden, Kyou got a burst of adrenaline. "What did you say to her? We're on, right now!" Yuki didn't even move. "Oi, kuso nezumi, I'm talking to you!"

Yuki raised his head to look bleary-eyed at Kyou. "I'm not fighting you, Kyou." Kyou was stunned at Yuki's appearance and his use of Kyou's name. "It's over."

Kyou responded in the only way he knew: anger. "What the hell does that mean? You can't make her cry like that!"

"You don't understand," Yuki said in a dangerously low voice. "Just listen, you stupid Cat." Kyou felt himself go stiffer and stiffer as Yuki related his conversation with Tohru. "Those words. It's like Kana. He made her think that everything was her fault, that it would be better for us if we had never met. Now he gets his way. She'll have her memory erased and we'll be his prisoners, without her."

Kyou stared blankly. "I'm not going to let that happen. I won't!" His calm tone belied his words. His hands turned to fists and he repeated himself in a resolute voice. "I won't let that happen!" Turning on his heel, he ran back to the house.

"Tohru! Stop crying!" He knelt at her side and forced her head up. Tohru's face was slick with tears, but he wiped them away. "He's wrong! You can't make my life sad. Akito's just a sick bastard who likes to hurt people. Don't let him hurt you!"

Tohru shook her head again and put it back down. Kyou looked up at the door and saw that Yuki was standing there now. "You, too, kuso nezumi! Are you going to let that asshole control you forever? I'm not! Tohru, I know you don't wish that you never met me. Or that damn Rat, either."

Yuki came and knelt on the other side of Tohru. "The baka neko is right for once in his life, Honda-san. We can't let him get what he wants this time." Kyou was surprised at Yuki's sudden change in opinion. At least someone had gotten some sense.

Tohru sniffled and sat up. "Really? Yuki-kun and Kyou-kun aren't angry with me? I didn't know what to do."

"Of course we're not angry with you, Honda-san. I want to be with you no matter what. I think Akito sees you as a rival, and he tried to break you. Now that we know what he was doing, it won't work." Yuki smiled at Tohru.

Kyou felt weird smiling at her in front of the Rat, but he tried his best. "Yeah, we're onto him now. Just don't go see him anymore."

"Okay, Kyou-kun. Please, let's try to be happy until school is over. I don't want to think about those things anymore," Tohru said, her mind at ease from their reassurance.

"Good afternoon, children!" All three looked up in surprise at Shigure's shrill voice. He was leering at them from the doorway.

"Shigure-san!" Tohru was pleased to see him.

"What are you doing here?" Kyou, on the other hand, was not pleased.

"Kyou-kun, must you greet your poor, overworked cousin in that harsh manner?" Shigure asked in mock dismay.

"Yeah! You aren't supposed to come home for two days!"

"It is a matter of great urgency that brings me here. Mit-chan called at the Honke insisting that I give her the 200 pages of my novel that I was supposed to give her before New Years. I told her I'd finish them today." He put a hand up to the side of his mouth as if telling them a secret. "I already have them done, but it's so much fun to harass her!"

"That doesn't explain why you're here," Yuki said in monotone.

"Um, yes, well. I have them done, but I forgot them here. She'll be over in a little bit. But don't worry, I'm going back to the Honke when she leaves."

"Good," breathed Yuki.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," said Shigure. A call of "Gure-san!" from outside made Yuki give Shigure a death-glare. "Oh," Shigure added innocently. "I almost forgot! I brought Aya with me." He tried to tiptoe out of the room, but Yuki sent him to the floor in a rage.

"Gure-san!" called Ayame from outside again. "I can't figure out how to turn Tori-san's car off."

At that, Kyou punched Shigure, too. "You let him drive?!"

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Much fighting and arguing ensued, until Shigure was sprawled in agony on the floor and Ayame worked out how to pull the key from the ignition. Both Yuki and Kyou were back in foul moods. Tohru, of course, was running around, making tea, fawning over Shigure's bruises. Mii only increased the stress level.

"Sensei! Where are the pages you promised me???" Mii flailed on the ground, barely coherent.

"Mii-chan, how can you think about a novel when I lie here dying. The world is growing dark. Good-bye, sweet editor!" Shigure then played out a very unbelievable death scene, complete with writhing and moaning and twitching until he finally lay still. Mii changed from distraught to furious in a matter of seconds and was at his side, beating on his chest roughly until he arose, grabbing her wrists. He may have been being ridiculous, but he knew enough not to let her accidentally transform him.

"Fine, fine." Shigure brightened as he was struck with a fabulous idea. "I know! How about a scavenger hunt, Mit-chan? With the pages as the prize!"

"A scavenger hunt? I want to play, too, Gure-san!" Ayame danced around laughing.

"Oh, brother," mumbled Kyou.

"Ah! A wonderful idea, Kyonkichi! Yuki, come on a scavenger hunt with your dashing older brother!" Without waiting for an answer, Ayame grabbed Yuki's hand and dragged him around the room chanting, "Scavenger hunt, scavenger hunt!" and laughing maniacally.

So, for the next two hours, everyone was forced to go on an elaborate scavenger hunt designed by Shigure. The clues were wordy and complicated, of course, and in all honesty didn't make much sense. Shigure laughed heartily, watching Mii get more and more agitated as time passed. With the help of the others, though, especially Yuki (to everyone's surprise), Mii finally left with her pages. She nearly had a stroke when the last clue led to Shigure's desk, but clutching the precious pages in hand, she ran out of the house instead of saying another word about it. Shigure and Ayame also left, with Shigure driving. Yuki, Kyou, and Tohru weren't sure if that was any better than Ayame driving. No one knew if they even had licenses. And so the three went back inside and had a thankfully quiet dinner before going to bed.

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Shigure pulled into Hatori's parking spot with the headlights off. They hadn't exactly gotten permission to take his car, but Hatori shouldn't mind?too much. Shigure got out of the car and walked directly into Hatori's chest. The Dragon was looking much like his namesake with that penetrating stare. "Ha-san, so good to see you! Aya and I were just making sure your?er?battery wasn't dead." He tried to give Hatori a sheepish smile.

"Oh, Tori-san! I think you should have your car worked on. Did you know that you have to turn the key-thingy to get the keys out? I don't think that's how it's supposed to work." Ayame swept around the car and stood next to Shigure. They looked like two children caught with hands in the cookie jar.

"Shigure, Akito wants to see you," Hatori said flatly. "And Ayame, if I ever catch you driving my car again, I'll cut every inch of that silver hair off your head." Ayame pouted and touched his sweeping tresses as if to comfort them.

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"What did you find out?"

Shigure knelt in front of Akito. His main purpose of going home was to give Mii the pages, but Akito had asked him to find out how the three at the house were holding up. "I'm not sure it worked out like you wanted. I only stood there a few moments, but I think Tohru told them about your conversation. From what I gathered, they had all been pretty upset, but they were getting over it." He paused. "I think they've decided not to be affected by what you said to her." He flinched as Akito crushed the little bird in his hand. He rarely killed his tiny pets, but it was always when he felt defeated. Defeated was not a good emotion for the family head, and it always meant trouble.

"So they think they're smarter than me. All right. I'll indulge their little fantasy until they graduate, but after that?." Akito never finished his sentence, as he was overcome by nefarious laughter.

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A/N: Yea, more evil Akito. Okay, so Akito's not really evil, but he's pretty mean. Anyways, I hope this gets interest peaked a little more. I can't wait to get into my much more action-pact and intense plot line after all the set-up stuff! Keep reading and reviewing, please! I love getting reviews. It just makes my day. (I won't beg anymore.)

Thank you to all the people who reviewed!!! You guys are totally awesome! I'm not going to answer them individually because I'm in a hurry right now, but here are a few answers to some random comments/questions:

1. I'm not telling who I like more here. You could figure it out if you really wanted to, like by looking at my list of favorite stories, but you don't have to look if you don't want to. I'm trying not to let biases show.

2. Definitely more Akito!

3. I will try to add as much Momiji as works with my story, as well as the other characters, because I love them all.

4. Yuki will NOT be cleaning anything in my story! ^_^

5. Please don't hunt me down with forks! I'll update regularly, I promise!

Next time on Divine Intervention (with cheesy soap opera music playing in the background): Hana and Uo! Kisa and Hiro! Haru and Momiji! Uh, at least one of those pairings, if not all. I'm so indecisive.