Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Divine Intervention ❯ Chapter 9 ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs to a really rich lady who is not I!

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Chapter 9:

Tohru was speechless. How could Yuki be the boy who had helped her so many years ago? The mystery had long dwelled in a corner of her mind, always on the edge of her consciousness, although she didn't directly think about the incident often. Such a brief meeting as a child had impacted her whole life, had haunted her dreams. The red cap that he had given her was a trivial thing, something anybody else would have discarded without a thought. But Tohru could never make herself let go of the tattered old hat. It was almost as if she felt that throwing the hat away meant she gave up hope of solving the great mystery of her life, the love she felt that she had lost. For the boy in the red cap, as she had told Arisa and Saki some time before, was her first love, and the dream of meeting him again had never faded. The sudden realization that Yuki was the boy she had yearned to find caught her completely off-guard.

"Honda-san? Are you all right?" Yuki asked sympathetically.

Tohru realized that she had been gaping like a fish, stopped mid-stride. "But how??" Her voice was weak and she couldn't think of how to finish a sentence.

Yuki rounded to stand face to face with her. "Do you remember the first time you took me to your mother's grave, on the anniversary of her death?" Tohru nodded and so he continued. "That day, after we returned to the house, you had left your window open and it had blown some of your belongings about the room. The hat was among them. Seeing that hat brought a rush of memories back to me that I hadn't thought about in years."

Tohru felt a little better now after knowing that Yuki hadn't been aware of the previous meeting the whole time she had lived there. It would have been too embarrassing to think about if he had. "Yuki-kun, why didn't you tell me before?" she inquired in a whisper.

"I don't know. I suppose I am too weak of a person. Memories of my childhood, especially from that particular time, were and are painful. Too painful for me to accept when I found the hat. Please understand, Honda-san. That was the time when Akito locked me in the room. I wasn't allowed to go out."

Tohru didn't follow. "Then how did you take me home?"

Sighing, Yuki looked intently into Tohru's eyes. "I have to finish opening the lid now," he said determinedly, almost to himself. "I escaped that day. You see, Honda-san, the only person who would visit me in that room was Haru. He alone risked Akito's temper to express kindness to me. I am in debt to him for that. Once in a while he would let me go out, dressed in his clothes, while he stayed in the room in my place. If Akito had ever found out?but Haru was fearless even then, and he always took my fear away, as well. That day- that day I went into the city. I was planning to leave forever, to run away, but then I saw you. I saw how frightened and alone you were and I felt sorry for you, so I took you home. When you got to your house and looked so happy, and your mother was so relieved, I couldn't help but feel sad. And the friendship that you showed me reminded me of Haru, trapped in the room where I was supposed to be. I couldn't just run away and let him take the blame. So, after I gave you the hat and left you, I ran back to the Honke, to the room, and let Haru out. Akito came as soon as Haru left. If I hadn't found you, if I hadn't thought of Haru in my place, there's no telling what Akito would have done to him," Yuki finished, flushed.

After staring at Yuki's hurt face as he had exposed his secret, Tohru couldn't help but cry. Yuki-kun always seemed so cold and distant, but that was only to hide his inner grief. The little boy who had been locked inside of a room by Akito was now locked inside of Yuki's mind, tormenting him with terrible memories. "Oh, Yuki-kun, I'm so sorry!" she wailed.

"No, Honda-san, I'm sorry. I've been keeping this from you when I should have been thanking you. You were my first friend outside the Sohma household." He wiped away the tears that had cascaded down her cheeks.

Tohru sniffled and smiled, halting the barrage of tears. "I'm so happy that I found you Yuki-kun."

"I'm the one that should be saying that, Honda-san," Yuki answered sincerely. He proffered his hand towards Tohru. "We should probably be on our way home before Shigure and that baka neko send out a search party."

Tohru giggled and took Yuki's hand in hers. Her smile never left her face on the walk home. There was a warm and comforting feeling in her heart that hadn't been there before, like a piece of the puzzle had come into place.

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Kyou looked at Tohru sourly from across the classroom. She had been giving Yuki those shy glances again, just like she had been for three days. It was enough to make him sick. Ever since Ratboy picked her up from work that night she had spent all of her time fawning over him and laughing at his sad excuses for jokes. What was so special about the kuso nezumi, anyway? She had always been nice to that prissy Rat, but this was way different. Every time they caught each others' eyes Yuki would smile and she would blush and look away. Sitting in class like this, watching it happen, was enraging him. 'Why the hell should I care if she blushes at him?' he questioned himself. 'Because you wish that you were the one making her blush,' a small voice in his head answered. That thought only made him angrier. The lunch bell rang, causing everyone but Kyou to rise. He watched as Tohru took Yuki's arm and walked out of the classroom. 'She didn't even remember that I was here!'

"Jealous?" a mirthful voice asked him. It was Uotani Arisa with her normal crooked smile.

Great. Just what he needed. "Shut up, Yankee!"

"Hey, Hanajima, I guess we weren't the only ones to notice Tohru's little staring contest with the Prince," Uo said sarcastically to her friend, while keeping her gaze on Kyou.

"Yes, the orange-haired boy's electrical signals clearly give him away," Hana said in a most unperturbed tone.

Arisa flashed her wicked grin at Kyou and spoke to him as though he was a child with a skinned knee. "Aaww, poor Kyon! Is Tohru's little crush hurting your feelings?" she said, reaching out to teasingly pinch his cheek.

Kyou bounded out of his chair and backed away from the two girls. "Get off of me, Uotani! Why would my feelings be hurt? She can have the damn Prince for all I care! And it's pretty sad if you don't know my name by know, Denpa!" Slinging his backpack across his shoulder, Kyou exited the room and headed to the roof. Stupid girls.

On the roof, Kyou laid his head on his bag and wallowed in his misery. His mind was arguing with itself again. Part of him was trying not to care about Tohru and the Rat. She was just his friend, anyway, right? Why did it matter if she got herself a boyfriend? He had told her himself that he would be there for her when she finally got a boyfriend, but he hadn't meant the kuso nezumi! Tohru could do way better than that!

'Like what? Like you, for instance?' the other part of his conscience asked. He sighed. He knew that was exactly what he wished. He knew he couldn't burden Tohru with his feelings, because of who he was and what his future was, and the kuso nezumi shouldn't either. Tohru was going to be crushed when he went back to live in the Honke. When they both did. He knew that they were her family now. What Akito had said to her was cruel. He wished that Akito hadn't told her that he was to be locked away. Kyou had wanted to tell her that himself. It was his responsibility. It didn't matter anymore, because what was done was done. He just didn't want to think about the nezumi with his Tohru. And that, he admitted to himself, was pure jealousy.

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"Where's Kyou?" Momiji asked as he saw Tohru's friends walk up to join their lunch group.

"I don't believe he'll be eating with us today," Hana answered.

Tohru came over to her friend's side worriedly. "What happened, Hana-chan? Is Kyou-kun okay?"

Uo put her arm around Tohru's shoulder and laughed. "I think he's fine. He just had some studying to do. Don't worry about it, Tohru." Tohru nodded uneasily and sat back down in her spot next to Yuki. Kyou's absence disturbed her a little, but at least he was taking his schoolwork seriously.

"So Haru, Momiji, have you heard the rumors?" Uo asked the Sohma boys.

"Rumors?" asked Momiji. He had never been very good at keeping up on gossip. People didn't like to tell him secrets for some reason.

"Uh, no. Should I have?" Haru inquired. He didn't put much stock in rumors.

"Yeah, words out that that Minami chick in our class, you know from the Prince's fan club? Her little sister's a freshman and she started a 'Prince Hatsuharu and Prince Momiji Fan Club' to compete with her sister." Uo couldn't help her laughter. Those girls never learned their lessons.

"Yes," Hana added, "I heard that Minami and her sister, Makiko, don't get along well. When Makiko wanted to join Yuki's fan club, Minami wouldn't have it, so she started her own to spite her."

"Now I know why there were a bunch of freshman taking pictures of me yesterday," Haru said. He was going to get really irritated if his following was anything like Yuki's.

"Really? A fan club? That's so exciting!" Momiji danced around on the lawn, clapping his hands.

Yuki shook his head. "You'll have to be alert all the time. Especially you, Momiji." He gave his cousins meaningful looks because he couldn't say what he was concerned about out loud. Fan club girls had kept him on his toes for his whole high school career, as they often thought it would be a good idea to embrace him unexpectedly. Transforming was a constant threat, and Momiji was lax enough about that.

Tohru was wide-eyed. 'Another Sohma fan club,' she thought. 'All of the Sohmas are very handsome, but it's so amazing to have an actual fan following.' "I think having a fan club would be a great honor," she said with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, maybe you guys can get some dates," Uo laughed.

"A date, a date! How fun!" Momiji giggled, continuing his dance.

Uo looked at Hatsuharu's serious expression. "What about you, Haru? Not interested in girls?"

Hatsuharu smirked at the thought of dating one of the immature girls at the school. "I've got better things to do with my time." His remark wasn't biting, just true. "Speaking of which, Honda-san, are you busy on Sunday?"

"Eh?" Tohru met Haru's piercing stare. "Oh, I guess I was just planning on studying and cleaning."

"Well, not anymore you're not. I'm sure Yuki can find another time to tutor you, and those slobs have got you cleaning way too much." Haru grinned at Tohru.

Putting up her hands, Tohru blushed and shook her head. "No, it's not a problem. I don't mind cleaning at all. Shigure-san has been too nice to me to let me live in his house and eat his food and-"

"Don't get all bent out of shape over him, Honda-san," Yuki cut in. "You're the one who's doing him a favor. And I can help you study any time. What did you have in mind, Haru?"

"Oh, nothing special. Rin and Kagura-nee have been nagging me all week about when we can visit you. I already told them that we'd be there on Sunday."

"You could have at least asked first, Haru," Yuki said with a glare.

"What's the fun in that? Besides, I knew if I already told them to come over that Tohru wouldn't back out of it. Am I right, Honda-san?" Haru grinned at her again.

"Ah, um, well, I couldn't say no now. Of course I'd love to have Isuzu-san and Kagura-san over!" Tohru was excited to see her friends.

"See?" Haru asked Yuki. "I told you." With those words the school bell rang. "I guess it's time to head back to scholastic hell," Haru said in annoyance.

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"Honda-san, don't look so upset. I'm sure that baka neko can take care of himself."

Tohru was overcome with concern for Kyou. He hadn't wanted to walk home from school with them, and when she had asked him if anything was wrong, he told her to mind her own business and ran off. She didn't know what she had done to make him cross, but she couldn't find him after that to apologize. She had been wandering around the schoolyard looking for him when Yuki found her and insisted they go home. "Yuki-kun, I must have really made him angry. I don't like making people angry."

"You didn't do anything to him, Honda-san. He's just like that by nature. I'm sure he'll come home when he's hungry."

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Kyou marched into Shigure's house at around dinnertime. He knew that he was acting childish and making Tohru worry, but he couldn't bear to walk home another day watching Yuki flirt with Tohru. It was revolting. Training at the dojo all afternoon had helped him refocus his temper, but the feeling was still there. He was hoping to escape quietly to his room, but Tohru poked her head out of the kitchen at the sound of the door.

"Kyou-kun? Can I talk to you?" She wiped her hands on the towel she was carrying and came over to him.

The way that she was looking at him with that sad pout was irritating the crap out of him. "What is it?"

"Kyou-kun, I'm very sorry if I made you angry. I didn't mean to do anything to you."

He tried to stay angry with her, he really did, but to no avail. "Don't be sorry. I'm sorry. I wasn't angry with you and I shouldn't have yelled at you. There. Now will you stop giving me that face?" His tone was exasperated.

Tohru smiled at him timidly and said, "Okay, Kyou-kun. You're just in time for dinner! I made salmon!"

Kyou returned her smile roughly. "Thanks," he mumbled, and went to the table. Dinner wasn't any more pleasant, though. Yuki sat next to Tohru and talked to her about calculus the whole time. The way she gazed at him as though he was some goddamn math wizard was so aggravating he wanted to die. Well, he wasn't going to be angry with her anymore. It's not like she had a chance when that girly Prince decided to charm her. This was all his fault, and he intended to show that Rat who was boss. Just a few more months before graduation. Just a few more months of training to beat that Yuki once and for all.

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A/N: Thanks for reading thus far! I appreciate all readers, and reviewers even more! So, there was a lot of Yukiruness this time. Poor Kyou-kun! Hehehe. You'll just have to keep reading to see what happens. Wasn't I nice this time, too? No mean and nasty cliffhangers. I won't torture my readers?too much. Next chapter we'll see some Rin, Kagura, and sexy Haru. Oh, and I'm going to be writing another fic on the side, also. Nothing even remotely as involved as this one, but it should be fun. Go and check it out (when it finally gets posted). I promise I won't slack on this one to write the other one.

Reviewers (comments include responses to last chapter's reviews, too, because I was lazy):

Zapenstap: Yes, I can see your face looking like O_O. You make that face a lot. ^_^ Yeah, I guess it wasn't a true lime, but I figure better safe than sorry. Arisa and Kureno will of course be worked out more eventually. I can't solve all the problems in the beginning, can I? Yuki can have a bloody nose and still be Princely. I can picture it!

Lady Kara: Thanks! I think my writing is getting better, too. I was super rusty before. I'm not sure about how I feel concerning Akito and Hana myself. I can see her kicking his ass, but I can also see him liking her. I guess it could work both ways, lol. I just haven't decided yet.

Merei-chan: You just might see Akito and Hana face off. See above comment.

C.B.: I couldn't help myself with Ritsu and Mit-chan. Even pathetic monkeys should get some lovin'!

kireina: Sorry to make you so upset! I hope you're not angry with me anymore. No more cliffhanger!

Stephanie: Oh, there'll be more romance and kawaii-ness, believe me! Angsty? I suppose, but it helps make the plot juicy.