Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Divine Intervention ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: Fruits Basket. Still not mine last I checked. I've got a piggy bank that I'm saving money in, though. I'll buy it eventually! *_*

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Chapter 14:

Tohru, Momiji, Hatsuharu, Rin, and Kagura all walked in silence down the emptying streets. Nothing much had been said after Haru told them where they were walking to, even by Momiji. The Rabbit might be silly, but he was apt at sensing when people didn't want to hear his chatter. Instead he followed behind everyone, his mind focused on Tohru, who seemed to be even more worried than usual.

"Hey," Haru said, dragging everyone to a halt. "Maybe I should go pick up Kisa and Hiro. I'm not sure they should be alone in the Honke like this while we're all together." Kisa was special to him, like a younger sister, and he knew that she would be scared.

Rin nodded agreement, flipping her long hair back over one shoulder. "You're right, Haru. It's not right to leave them like this. They were probably expecting us all back by now." Hiro was almost as close to her as Kisa to Haru.

"You're not going to let him go get them, are you?! He'll get lost!"

Haru glared at Kagura, feeling his nerves edging towards his Black side. She did something to him to bring it out almost every time he was around her. Taking a deep breath, he urged his mind back to the White. Going Black was utterly pointless and it wasn't going to make Kagura any saner. "Fine, why don't you go?"

Bouncing on her toes, Kagura laughed, making Haru's anger simmer in him again. She had been trying to go herself the whole time? He had no idea how Rin hadn't killed her yet, being forced to live with her.

"Come on, Tohru-kun! Let?s go!" Kagura grabbed Tohru and began to drag the wide-eyed girl away down the street. "We'll have more girl talk time!"

"Stop! Kagura, I'm not letting you take Honda-san to the Honke. Are you crazy?!" Rage now boiled within him, breaking to the surface and possessing him with Blackness. "Do you even know what's going on, you idiot? This isn't the time to go talk about make up and pop stars, Kagura!" In two quick strides he was in front of her, standing above her with a fierce expression. "Life as we know it is going to change completely after tonight," he ground out through clenched teeth. "I don't know what's going to happen, but it's something big and Tohru is involved. How about we keep her as far away from Akito as we can for as long as we can, huh?"

Kagura's ever increasing temper was quashed at his last statement. She had been there the night Akito had attacked Tohru at the main house, had seen her arm hanging limply after Akito threw her into the wall and dislocated it. Eyes intent on her feet, the Boar hunched her shoulders apologetically and spoke in a soft voice. "I'm sorry, Haru-chan. I was only trying to make her forget about Yuki and Kyou and whatever is happening to them tonight." She looked around quickly, remembering that not every one of the Jyuunishi knew of the upcoming battle between Cat and Rat. Rin knew, and Haru, Kagura was certain, but she was still unsure as to how much Momiji or Tohru might have heard. But Tohru only looked at Kagura with comfort, and Momiji didn't seem to be paying too much attention. Finally, Kagura swept her gaze back to her cousin in front of her. "Haru-chan, I'm scared, too. I guess I just wasn't thinking."

Remaining silent, Haru simply placed a hand on Kagura's shoulder as if she were a lost child. "I know. Let's try to keep other people in mind, though, huh? We aren't the ones who will get the worst of what happens." He glanced over Kagura's head to smile at Rin, who standing behind Tohru. Momiji still stood on the sidewalk some paces back, knowing that this conversation was best left to his more capable cousins. "Momiji," he called, causing the boy to lift his head. "Why don't you go with Kagura to pick up Kisa and Hiro and meet us back at Shigure's? Rin and I will take Honda-san."

Momiji smiled and came to grab Kagura's hand. The diminutive girl was still standing still, ashamed of herself. "Come on, Kagura!" Kagura kept her head down as she walked off with him. "See you all in a little bit!" he called back.

"Well, that's settled. I'm not letting you or Kagura anywhere near each other in the future. You're both drama queens." Rin smirked at her boyfriend to emphasize her joking, but there was a hint of seriousness in her tone. "Let's get on our way now. It's freezing. Tohru?" Rin walked forward to where Tohru was still staring after Momiji and Kagura. She hadn't said one word yet. "Tohru?" Rin asked again. Coming around to stand in front of her new friend, she was surprised to see the expression on her face. "What's wrong?!"

"N-nothing. I'll be okay," Tohru assured her as she wiped the cool tears from her cheeks. She couldn't help it. Everything had been going so well for them, and her life had been so happy, and now all of the Sohmas were hurting because of this one night. "I don't understand," she simpered quietly, trying to hold back any more tears. "Why does he do this to his family?"

Haru raised his eyebrows at Rin when Tohru mentioned her concerns. He knew exactly whom she was talking about. "It's true that he does tend to do things to us that don't make much sense sometimes," he said, not taking his eyes from Rin's. "But there isn't anything we can do about it. Akito is Akito, and as much as we hate him, our curse makes us respect his ruling." Tohru didn't turn to face him, but she nodded at his words.

"Why don't you go on ahead, Haru?" Rin suggested, making it clear with her face that it was an order, not a request. Haru obliged and Rin waited until he was far enough away from them not to hear. "Tohru-kun, I think we should talk."

"Sure, what is it?"

Rin smiled at her when she realized that the tears had come to an end. "It's about Akito, and the curse. He's not going to do anything to endanger our lives," she lied, thinking of herself falling out of that window. "It's just that he controls us by using psychological tactics, like tonight. He wants us to be scared, and fear his wrath, but we can't really feel that way or he will win. Tohru, if we want to break the curse, we have to be one step ahead of him, because the thing that frightens him most is it breaking."

"But why?" Tohru inquired, shocked that Akito would want his relatives to suffer so.

"Because it's his control over us. Without that, he's nothing. That's the key, the key to breaking the curse. Or at least the start of it."

Tohru visibly started to comprehend what Rin was telling her. Akito felt that he was nothing without the curse, because he didn't know what it was like to use anything except control. "Okay, but what do we do?"

"Nothing! Just stay calm and try to stay out of his way tonight, whatever happens. This fight between Yuki and Kyou is disturbing, but they need to know that we're there for them or one of them might collapse under the pressure. I saw today that Kyou is already different."

"He is," moaned Tohru. "I'm so worried about him, and Yuki-kun, too. I can tell that they're preoccupied with tonight, but they don't want to talk about it."

In a friendly gesture, Rin wrapped an arm around Tohru's back. The poor girl needed all the help she could get. "Well, I'm sure they'll feel a lot better if they know that you are safe today. You can stay with Haru and me while it goes on." She almost stumbled when Tohru completely stopped walking to scrub at new tears. There was something different this time, though, and Tohru looked like she had seen a ghost.

"I can't," she whispered almost inaudibly. "Akito wants me to stay by his side tonight."

"Eh? Okay, Tohru-kun," Rin told her as she replaced her hand on Tohru's back. She tried to make her face pleasant, but a horrible seed of dread formed a knot in her stomach. She and Haru had gone over everything that might go wrong, but this could be much, much worse.

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Yuki looked purposefully away from his older brother as he sat in the back seat of Hatori's car, on the way to pick up dinner. He had tried to get his hand back from his brother after leaving the auditorium, but to no avail. Ayame was incredibly strong when he had a mind to be, and right now he apparently wasn't going to let go. At least Yuki had learned to shut grating voices. That was a talent that had improved while living under Shigure's roof. The scenery outside the window slowed to a stop as Hatori parked the car in the lot behind the take-out place. It was one of Shigure's favorites and one of the restaurants they had frequented before the days of Tohru.

Clicking sounded in Yuki's ears as the two passengers in the front removed their seat belts. "Ha-san and I are going to get the food, Yuki-kun. We'll leave you and Aya in the car so it doesn't get stolen." Yuki just sighed as the doors slammed and he was literally locked up with Ayame.

"Yuki! Isn't it exciting to spend time with me? I know of hundreds of girls who would die to be in the back seat with the infamous Sohma brothers." Laughing wildly, Ayame scooted closer to Yuki, squishing him against the door and making him feel even more trapped.

"We aren't the 'infamous Sohma brothers,' and anyone who would want to be in a confined place with you is a lunatic," Yuki growled. The last thing on Earth he wanted was to spend the day with his brother. He tried and tried, but he never got anywhere with the idiot. All Ayame succeeded in doing was making his mood worse.

But no amount of sarcasm or venom drove Ayame away. Yuki had to admit that he was persistent. "Oh, Little Brother, you and I were the talk of the town at your graduation. Many girls in the audience came up to me, to acknowledge my devastating good looks, but I insisted that I wouldn't have anything to do with them unless I could share with my dear younger brother." He paused to laugh at Yuki's horrified face. "They took one look at you and were more than happy to comply with my requests. We have three dates this weekend alone."

In a hushed tone, Yuki angrily spat out a warning. "You're unbelievable! No decent person would take advantage of women like that."

"They wanted us to take advantage of them! One of them even told me that directly. It's my genes, naturally, which I passed down to you. Women can't control their romantic urges when they're in our presence. It's almost as much of a curse as the Jyuunishi," he continued dramatically. "Fighting women off takes so much of my energy that I find myself too tired to spend enough time on my designs."

Yuki snatched his hand back in a sudden gesture and narrowed his eyes. "You didn't pass any genes down to me. It's physically impossible, since you inherit traits from your parents. And next time you want to be romantic with women, leave me out of it! I have enough to keep myself occupied right now." His sentence was punctuated by Shigure and Hatori opening the car doors and clamoring back inside with boxes of take-out.

"Oh, did you two have a nice talk?" Shigure asked them, leering from the passenger seat. He passed back an armload of take-out boxes for Yuki to hold on his lap. "We could go back inside if you aren't done." All he received was a glare from his younger cousin. Shigure knew that leaving them alone in the car probably wasn't the best idea, but he wanted the brothers to get some time together, for both of their sakes. All week Yuki had been far too removed from his normal self and the Dog worried that he wouldn't be emotionally ready for the fight. Both Yuki and Kyou had too much riding on one simple duel.

"You're not going back inside!" Yuki threatened.

Ayame took his opportunity of Yuki's hands being full to embrace his neck. "Why not, Little Brother? We were having so much fun!"

"Ayame!" Hatori's stern voice broke through the mounting tension in the car. The Snake regretfully let go of Yuki and slid back to his own seat, and Shigure turned around to face front. Grimacing slightly, Hatori settled in and turned the car back on. "You're both going to behave tonight, or there'll be hell to pay from me." It was uncharacteristic to hear the doctor in such a bad temper, but it made them listen all the more closely. "We only have a little over an hour to eat and be in his chambers. Let's not get side-tracked now!"

Languidly, Yuki let himself relax back as he stared back out the window. He mentally thanked Hatori for giving him respite, no matter how short it would be. Even though it was still quite cold outside, he rolled down his window and stuck his hand out to catch the breeze. Freedom was beautiful.

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Fiery orange hair whipped about in Kyou's eyes as he followed his Shishou away from the dojo. It was only a short walk from there to the main house, but tonight Kyou wanted it to last forever. He knew in his heart that it would be the last time he would walk outside, and he didn't even want to think about that. A lifetime of imprisonment was ahead of him, and it was the worst torture he could think of. He loved the outdoors, and practicing, and seeing the stars from the roof. Frowning, he figured that he would be lucky if his cell had a window or was big enough to do stances in.

He and Kazuma had spent the past two hours together, trying to prepare Kyou in every way possible to win. His adoptive father had even thought ahead of time, making sure that he knew how to prepare dinner so Kyou wouldn't have to take over. Afterwards they had gone to the small clearing near the building where Kazuma brought students to meditate. Kyou felt refreshed, but his mind wasn't clear like it was supposed to be from the exercise.

"Kyou," Kazuma instructed with his back still to his son, "you must keep your mind supple and lithe like your body. Even when in the best physical shape, a combatant with a troubled mind will not defeat his enemy."

"I know that!" Kyou snapped at the phrase he had heard a million times prior. "It's not exactly easy to keep my mind clear right now, Shishou!"

Kazuma looked back over his shoulder sagely. "Yes, my son, I know that you have memorized what I said, but do you heed the words? Think, Kyou! Your mind must be one step ahead of your opponent's at all times. You cannot do that if your thoughts are clouded with rage."

Sighing, Kyou tried to release the anger forming in his psyche. He wasn't even his normal self lately, feeling more depressed than angry, and yet trying to hide it by avoiding everyone. Hiding wouldn't work anymore, though, because everything rested on what would happen in a few minutes. They had reached the gates of the Honke and were making their way inside, crossing the barren plaza. "Shishou," he said from his brooding state. "Why is it that you want me to beat Yuki so badly? Don't you care about him as a student?"

"Of course I do, but his fate is not determined by this battle. You have a chance here to alter the tradition that has confined the spirit of the Cat for centuries. Never forget that, Kyou. Keep it in your mind as you fight, as a beacon of a goal."

"Yeah," Kyou answered by rote, thinking about what Kazuma had said. He would keep his cool no matter what happened in the fight, no matter what Akito said. Making a fist, he dug his nails into his palms. 'I will win!' he chanted to himself. 'I will stay calm and win this!'

By now they stood out side Akito's audience chamber, where all of the Jyuunishi plus Akito and Tohru waited for him, although he could hear no sound from behind the shoji screen. Kazuma turned to give him one last meaningful look before sliding the door open gently and letting Kyou go in before him.

Immediately Kyou saw the back row of on-lookers, kneeling on the floor. Haru and Rin were separated by Momiji and Kagura, and on either side that foursome was Hiro and Kisa. Kyou suspected that it was to keep up the appearances that there was no more romanticism happening there, and he didn't blame them. Ritsu sat next to Kisa, his lips moving soundlessly in either prayer or apology; Kyou couldn't tell. Surprisingly, Kureno sat in the far back corner, as far away from his usual place next to Akito as possible. It made Kyou wonder if he had curried some ill favor with Akito.

Taking another step into the dark room, Kyou saw his three oldest cousins, making almost a shield as they knelt in between Akito's place and the others. Hatori sat in the middle, of course, slightly ahead of the other two, although Kyou wasn't sure exactly how much protection any of them had to offer, or whether or not it would be necessary. Next came Yuki, standing in front, emotions hidden behind a serene mask. Kyou felt no hatred looking at him, though, only determination. He would finally beat the Rat! He would do anything to be with?. Where was-?

Kyou swiveled his head to the front of the room slowly, fear growing with every second. When he finally laid his eyes on her, he didn't know how to react. Akito had palmed Tohru's head with one desperate claw-like hand, keeping her stare right where the fight would take place. Her eyes were what caught his attention, though. They were round and shimmering with panic, and they seemed to plead with him for something. Kyou didn't know how the kuso nezumi let her stay up there like that with him! A breathy snarl escaped as he tensed his body to leap at Akito's and wrestle Tohru from his clutches, but Kazuma's fierce whisper stopped him.

"No, Kyou! Don't be rash! Now is the time to stay calm, to focus on the fight, or the outcome will be worse than you can imagine."

"Quiet!" came Akito's raspy tone. A sneer marred his face as he glared at Kazuma. "Your words mean nothing, now. Kneel and be silent!" Akito waited as Kazuma lowered himself to the floor next to Shigure. "Good. Come, Monster, come and face the Rat," he chuckled, pointing to a spot across from Yuki.

"Now," Akito continued when everyone was situated, Kyou and Yuki locked in a deathly staring match. "Let me explain the rules."

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A/N: Okay, I'm really mean, huh? Yes I am just going to end it there. You'll have to wait until next time to see who wins. I'm not telling! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as it was one of the ones I've been looking forward to most. The next one is going to blow you all away, I promise. It's really the scene that got this whole fic idea started in my head in the first place, so I'm planning on it being good! I'm not sure exactly when I'll have the time to get it as perfect as I want, but I'll try my best.

All reviews are kindly received and cherished, so anything you might say is worth it to me! Thank you to all who have reviewed so far, and as for the last chapter:

Merei-chan: Thank you as always, and I'll have to check out your fics sometime soon! I haven't been reading much fanfiction myself lately because of school, but I'd sure like to be!

veronica: Ah, sorry about the stress. It's not going to let up for a while in my fic, though! ^_^

Zapenstap: Yes, your reviews didn't go through quite right, but that's ok. I liked the Kyou turtle analogy, too. It just kind of came to me as I wrote. I thought it was going to be cheesy!

Mercedes no Inuarai: Thank you for the characterization comment! That's always my favorite praise! And as for leaving out the Akito and Tohru scene from the anime, it's because the end of the anime is slightly different from the manga, and that scene is actually something they made up for the sake of concluding the anime. Therefore, I'm ignoring it.

Aiden Sadi: Haha, thank you for the plushie advice. I'm already an ebay addict, so I'll keep my eyes open for more furuba goodies.

DarkSov: Yes, you really DO have to read the manga. Not only is it important in my story (although you could probably catch to my plot without it and I'd be happy to answer any questions or give you links to info if you emailed me), but it's really good, as well! A must for all Fruits Basket lovers!

animelubber: Wow, that's an awesome promise! I would love to hear from reviewers every chapter!

Lasaire: Oh, you might want to wait around for a bit. This is definitely a triangle fic, not a Yukiru?. And I'm sorry if you're dying of more suspense right now! This is a huge cliffhanger, I know.

Zanattic: You are so my favorite reviewer right now! Your comments are so incredible and I look forward to more in the future ^_~. I wish I were as talented as Takaya-sensei, so to be compared to her is flattering. Getting all those characters down right can be tiring work. As for the story, I'm not saying a word about what's going to happen! :X You just have to wait and see, but I don't think you'll be disappointed. Oh, and I thought of some more Japanese words for you. I should really put a glossary on chapters:

-sama = suffix on a name to indicate something like a god or king or queen or the like

Jyuunishi = collective term for the Zodiac members

Shishou = master (what Kyou calls Kazuma)