Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Divine Intervention ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I still don't own Fruits Basket, but I'm asking for it for Christmas.

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Chapter 6:

"Why do we have to come here, anyway?"

"Because, Hiro-chan, I want to see if Oneechan's feeling better."

Hiro couldn't help but release his anger when he saw the lost look in Kisa'a eyes. They really could be the eyes of an orphaned tiger cub, needing protection from the perils of the world. Although he was a year younger than she was and just barely taller, he felt like a medieval knight guarding his fair princess. The arrogant Ram would never admit it, not even to himself, but he liked stories about swashbuckling heroes rescuing damsels in distress. None of his inner tenderness came out in his voice, though. "Whatever. You shouldn't worry so much about that stupid chick. She's the biggest klutz I've ever seen."

Kisa stopped in her tracks and pulled on Hiro's sleeve until he turned around to face her. "Please, Hiro-chan, be nice to her. I want to have fun today." Her vision clouded as her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away. All she wanted was for Hiro to be nice to Tohru, because she loved them both so dearly. In the time since they had met, Hiro hadn't warmed up to Tohru much at all. Kisa knew that Hiro was jealous of Tohru, but his reasons didn't make any sense to her.

Hiro sighed at himself for making her sad yet again. "Oi," he said almost in a whisper. "I'll have a good time if you do." These were Hiro's favorite moments in life, being alone with Kisa, no stupid girl around, no Sohmas, and no parents. He liked to pretend on these rare occasions that they were much older and that he was Kisa's prince. "How about we just stay for a little while, though. Our parents aren't expecting us until dinner. We could go get ice cream or something."

Kisa smiled sweetly back at Hiro. She enjoyed spending time with him alone, also. Hiro wasn't going to the same middle school as she was, so they didn't see each other as much as they used to. They both had homework, and Hiro had to help his mom with the baby, and now that they were a little older, everyone seemed to be watching over their shoulders. Their once childish crushes had turned into puppy love, and every time they shared some innocent little affection, an unwanted observer would pop up and cause Hiro to lose his temper and Kisa to run away in embarrassment.

So, Hiro saw this as a perfect opportunity; they were almost to Shigure's house, but trees blocked it from view. Still clumsy in his execution from lack of practice, he quickly leaned in and brushed Kisa's warm lips with his own. The kiss lasted only a second, but of course they had been seen. Hiro grimaced when he heard someone clear his throat.

Yuki stood in the path several yards away from Hiro. He had to cover his mouth with his hand to hide his amused smile. "Hello, Kisa. On your way to visit Honda-san?" He markedly ignored Hiro's murderous look and instead smiled sincerely at Kisa. He hated to intrude on their privacy, but they were positioned between himself and his secret base and apparently hadn't noticed him standing there with how wrapped up they were in each other.

Kisa blushed and looked at her shuffling feet. "Yes, Oniichan. We just came to see her for a little while."

"Don't you have anything better to do than spy on us?" demanded Hiro, fists on hips.

Yuki tried to respond with a straight face, but for some reason Hiro's challenging stance was comical. "I'm sorry, Hiro. I was just on my way to my garden when I ran into you." Well, he had managed not to laugh out loud at his feisty cousin.

Hiro was really starting to get annoyed at Yuki's sly smile. He knew how to piss off that Rat. "Oi! At least Kisa will actually kiss me. That's more than I can say for that ugly dimwit you like so much. Let's go!" Kisa turned to give Yuki an apologetic look as Hiro dragged her towards the house. Yuki felt like Kyou. He wanted to smack the living daylights out of that brat, but he decided that he'd ignore his desires and plant something instead.

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"Kisa-san!" Tohru ran to give Kisa a massive hug. Laughing, she pulled Hiro in, also, placing him on the other side of Kisa so he wouldn't transform.

"Ugh! Get off of me!" Hiro escaped her grasp and crossed his arms. "Don't you have any snacks or tea to offer us? We're invited guests."

Tohru smiled at Hiro obliviously. "Yes, the table's all set. I made sure there was nothing with sugar."

Hiro grumbled and went with Kisa and Tohru to have lunch. The girls chatted about school while Hiro moped and threw in a few biting remarks here and there. Tohru loved being around the two of them, even if Hiro was obstinate. Tohru knew from what Kisa told her privately that he really could be sweet and charming, and that he truly cared for her. Their relationship was kept as secret from Akito as possible, but all of the Jyuunishi knew and approved now.

"Where are Yuki and Kyou and Shigure-ojiisan?" Kisa asked, finally realizing they hadn't been around all during lunch.

"Oh, Kyou-kun is at the dojo today training and Shigure-san went to visit Ayame-san's shop. I think Yuki-kun is around somewhere."

"Oneechan, since your arm is better, it's okay for you to be alone here, right?" Kisa wasn't sure how to tell Tohru that she wanted to spend time with Hiro by herself.

"Um, sure. Can't you stay long?"

Kisa blushed and Hiro frowned. "Well, Hiro-chan and I were going to go get some ice cream."

Tohru looked baffled for a second before she realized what Kisa was trying to say. Hiro rolled his eyes at how dense she was. "Okay, Kisa-san! This way I can catch up on the housework."

A short while later, Tohru was waving at them vigorously from the doorway. She really did need to work on the house today, since it was the last day before school started again. Kyou had done the cooking for the most part, and Tohru had tried to clean as much as she could, but the house was seriously in disarray. Yuki had tried to help by mopping the kitchen floor, but it had taken him three hours just to do that so he gave up on the rest of the house. Tohru was determined to have the house spotless and dinner on the table when they came home.

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"Yo, Orangetop! I hear you got pretty wasted on New Years. Can't handle your liquor, eh?" Arisa stood outside the school where she usually met Tohru and he two boys before class. Saki and Hatsuharu flanked her, both smiling at the new arrivals.

"How the hell did you??" Kyou stopped mid-sentence when he saw a blonde head poke out from behind Uo's back. "Momiji! I'm gonna kill you!"

Momiji laughed loudly. "Sorry Kyou-Kyou." He certainly didn't sound very sorry. Kyou wrapped his arm around Momiji's neck and throttled him. "Wah! Kyou's hitting me!"

"Cut it out, Momiji," said Yuki briskly. "If you keep that up we'll all get in trouble." Momiji stopped his whining but continued to pout.

"But Yuki," began Haru, latching onto Yuki's arm, "You're Student Body President."

"Precisely," Yuki said, unhooking himself from Haru. "I don't need to get lectured for some stupid fight that I wasn't even involved in."

"We can fix that right now!" Kyou interjected after releasing his hold on Momiji. "C'mon girly-boy!"

Yuki ignored Kyou and walked past him towards the school entrance. "We're going to be late to class. Are you coming, Honda-san?" Tohru meekly followed him into the building. Yuki and Kyou had been quibbling non-stop ever since they came back from New Years. Any hope that they might get along after that talk the three of them had was dashed when she understood that now they were being especially vicious to prove to each other that they weren't friends. This day was starting off worse than most.

"Hey, Kyou! I'll take Yuki's place." Apparently Haru was itching for a fight, as well. "I think you'll be surprised at how much I've improved." Not waiting for Kyou's answer, Haru head-butted him in a very Cow-like manner.

"What kind of lame-ass move is that, huh? Can't you get some new tactics?" Kyou blocked Hatsuharu's next attempt and retaliated with a chopping swing to his sternum. This was starting to get good.

"Sohma Kyou, Sohma Hatsuharu. I think you both know the consequences of fighting on school grounds." The principal's reprimanding voice got their attention. Haru looked at the man blankly and Kyou scowled. This wasn't exactly a new thing for them. "You can spend lunch washing blackboards. It?ll give you plenty of time to think about your actions." Uo snickered at their punishment, earning her a disapproving stare from the principal. "Uotani Arisa, I believe that you are almost late for class." He left them after giving Kyou one more admonishing glance. That young man had caused him no end of trouble in the past two and a half years.

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"It's too bad Sohma Kyou had to miss the delicious lunch you made for him." Saki's voice was devoid of emotion as usual.

"I hope he doesn't get too hungry." Tohru stared up at the second story window where she could see Kyou furiously scrubbing a blackboard. "He gets angry when he misses meals." Yuki wasn't with them, either, but he at least he got to eat during his Student Council meeting.

Uo chortled around her rice ball. "That guy loses his temper over everything. I guess that's what he gets for breaking the rules."

"That seems an odd thing for you to say, Arisa. Didn't you skip math class earlier?" Hana gave Uo a flat, penetrating look.

"Yeah, so I did. And I saw you give those Prince Yuki Fan Club girls a scare with your denpa. My point is that he's gonna get suspended if he can't control himself." Arisa seemed to be preoccupied about Kyou's well-being.

Momiji put his book down and giggled. "Maybe Kyou's mad because he likes Tohru-mutti and he's too shy to tell her." Momiji had been silently reading The Universe of Stew all during lunch, so this comment took them by surprise.

"You know, kid, for a shrimp you're pretty perceptive. I think that's exactly why he's being so moody." Uo chuckled and nudged the blushing Tohru playfully on the shoulder. "Hey, what's the matter, Tohru?" she asked in shock. Tohru was grabbing her shoulder in pain. "I didn't hit you that hard."

"No, there was something wrong with Tohru-kun's arm before you hit her. At least, that's what her electrical signals are telling me." Hana moved to Tohru's side and put an arm around her comfortingly.

"Tohru? What happened to your shoulder?" Uo was at the girl's other side.

Tohru gritted her teeth and forced herself to smile at them. "Oh, no, don't worry. I just ran into a wall on New Years at the Honke and dislocated my shoulder. Clumsy me!" She knuckled herself on the forehead. "I'm fine now, I promise." Tohru hoped they would accept her clumsiness as an excuse. The incident with Akito had caused her to lie more than once now.

"You would have to run into a wall pretty hard to do that," Uo said skeptically.

"Are you sure that's what happened, Tohru-chan? My denpa tells me that there's more to that story." Hana wasn't accusing Tohru of anything, but rather was concerned for her. Tohru going alone with the Sohmas on New Years had made her a little wary for Tohru's safety. The cloud of hatred deep in all of the Sohmas's hearts was there as clearly as it had ever been.

Tohru was floundering for an explanation when Momiji chimed in and saved her. "I think Tohru's embarrassed because that happened the night she and Kyou got into the sake. She was stumbling around a little bit." Tohru would remember to thank the Rabbit later.

"Oh, ho ho! I get it now! Our little Tohru was drunk, too. I woulda killed to see that!" Uo rolled on the ground laughing as she pictured a belligerent Tohru tripping over things. She probably even apologized to the wall after she ran into it.

"Yes, that does explain why Tohru's vibes are so ashamed. Dear, sweet Tohru. We'll have to teach Kyon a lesson for letting this happen to you." Hana was giving Tohru a huge smile, which was as good as a belly laugh for her.

"Oh, Kyou wasn't there when that happened," said Momiji. "I think Kureno helped her."

Tohru looked at Uo, horrified at what Momiji unknowingly let slip. "Hai, Uo-chan? Isn't that funny? He has the same name as the man you like. What a coincidence?." Uo wasn't even paying attention to her.

Grabbing Momiji by the collar, she fiercely peered at him. "Who is this Kureno? How old is he? What does he look like?"

Momiji didn't understand what was happening at all, be he knew Arisa's disposition well enough. "Oh, he's my cousin. He's about 26, brown hair, doesn't get out much."

Arisa's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that after all this time, the person that haunted her dreams was one of the Sohma clan. "Figures! Where is this Honke of yours, twerp?"

"Um, Uo-chan, I don't think that's a good idea." Tohru plucked at Arisa's shirt. "You see, Kureno-san isn't really allowed to have visitors." Desperation oozed from her. How could she tell Arisa that Kureno was prisoner to Akito and that he didn't want to see her? This wasn't how she planned to tell Arisa about the Bird being her mystery man.

"Did you know this whole time, Tohru? Well, I don't know what that guy said about me, but I'm about to tell him what he can do with his pompous ass." She dropped Momiji to the ground and stalked off.

"I'm sorry, Tohru-kun. I think I better go with her. I assume her temper could make things most unpleasant at the Sohma residence." Hana hugged Tohru and glided off after Arisa's disappearing form.

"Tohru? What just happened?" Momiji clung to her hand and looked up at her with wide eyes.

"I don't think this is very good, Momiji-kun. I think Uo-chan's going to do something bad to Kureno-san." Tohru emphasized her fears by gulping noisily.

"Come on, Tohru. I think maybe we should call Hari." Momiji coaxed her towards the school office.

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A/N: So, hehehe, Uo finally gets to confront Kureno. And don't think Hana won't be running into Akito. I'm so devious! Sorry about the very little of Yuki and Kyou in this chapter. I'm not really sure where the next chapter is headed yet, so I'm not promising anything, but I will update within a few days. Keep up with those reviews. They're like crack for writers. Aah! I need more! T_T

Sweet, sweet reviewers (Runic Knight, Lady Kara, Zapenstap, crack baby x2, RaikO, bookitty, yingaling), here are some random comments again:

I love happily evil Shigure!

Akito IS a meany head.

Against my better judgment, Yuki cleaned something.

Wow, this is definitely NOT an Akiru fic. Frankly, the thought scares me.

Thanks for the chapter length comment! I tried really hard to make them not too long and not too short.

I'm glad you think I write IC. It's a huge compliment!