Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ A Caged Heart ❯ Reflection ( Chapter 8 )

Author's Note:

 

Oh -nope, Fruits Basket still is not mine…

 

 

Reflection:

 

The three of them sat.

 

Hatori had firmly but politely declined the dinner invite, as his only purpose was to accompany Shigure, so he soon departed, dragging a somewhat unhappy boy behind him. Yuki was still nowhere to be seen.

 

So, they sat.

 

And chewed.

 

And swallowed.

 

Shigure, Kyo and Tohru were sitting around the table, eating a perfectly good meal of rice, miso soup, fish and various vegetables, none of which happened to be leeks.

 

A perfectly good meal, as you can see, yet not a word - after a quick mumble of thanks - was spoken in it's praise. Nor, for that matter, on any other topic.

 

It was as if a mist of silence had slowly seeped in through the still-present gap in the door, spreading itself throughout the house and anchoring itself within its very walls. Even if it hadn't, it might as well have, for this - just like the moonlight shining onto a small puddle on the otherwise dry porch - was a night of reflection.

 

Kyo was miserable.

 

`I am so damn stupid.'

 

Tohru was in shock.

 

`Oh my god. Oh-my-god. Oh-my-godohmygodohmygod!'

 

Shigure, however, was simply ignorant of the greater happenings occurring around him and outside his world.

 

`This fish is so delicious!'

 

And on and on went the thoughts through their heads…

 

`How could I smell her hair? She probably thinks I'm a perverted freak like Shigure now!'

 

`He…He actually smelled my hair!'

 

`I really must get the recipe.'

 

`It smelled so good, though…'

 

`Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!'

 

`It might, however, taste a bit better if there were some leeks.'

 

`Oh you perverted bastard! Stop thinking about Tohru's hair!'

 

`We were so close together! Did I really think… Did he almost…'

 

`Wait…is that a fishbone stuck in my teeth?'

 

`Damn it! Now I can't not think of her!'

 

`Did I really think that anything would… happen?'

 

`Disgusting! Must get bone out without looking conspicuous!'

 

`Hell… I love Tohru too much not too…'

 

`Would I really… Would I really have kissed him?'

 

`Get…out…grrr…'

 

Shigure made the mistake of growling out loud as he was trying to pull the small fishbone from between his back teeth. The sound made Tohru and Kyo look up. They made eye contact, then hurriedly looked back down to their food.

 

`Damn… she saw me blushing…'

 

`Oh my god! He saw me blushing!'

 

`Hah! Got it out. I don't even think they noticed.'

 

*************************************

 

Dinner was finished.

 

Silence.

 

Shigure casually scratched the back of his head.

 

Silence.

 

Blink.

 

Cough.

 

Silence.

 

The awkwardness was beginning to become unbearable, so Tohru tried to break the silence.

 

“So -” Her voice came out slightly squeaky, so she cleared her throat. Shigure looked at her expectantly, while Kyo seemed to take a liking to the empty space next to her head. “Umm… The moon… its out… now… umm… yeah…”

 

She shut up again. She could tell that nobody really cared.

 

`This is so embarrassing…' she thought, her cheeks flushing rouge.

 

Tohru looked down, as if to hide her embarrassment in her empty bowl.

 

Now that Tohru was looking away, it was Kyo's turn.

 

He took a deep breath, then aimed.

 

“Well, that was…”

 

He had aimed too high -

 

“…dinner…”

 

- and missed by a long shot.

 

`You stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid damn cat!' He groaned inwardly at his own pathetic-ness.

 

Shigure raised an eyebrow in question. Tohru hadn't even looked up.

 

Kyo lowered his head and closed his eyes, as if waiting for execution.

 

Shigure looked from bowed head to bowed head. He could sense that something was not quite right under his roof. He had a slight inkling of what it was, but had no means of encouraging it at this precise moment. So, Shigure being Shigure, he decided to do what he did best. He rambled.

 

“Ahh…” he sighed loudly. “Well personally, I think that was a simply stupendous dinner! Fabulous! Fantastic! Have any of you looked out the window yet? The moon looks absolutely amazing… Beautiful, I tell you, beautiful!”

 

His words fell on deaf ears.

 

`No luck yet? No? I'll keep trying then.' he thought, grinning mischievously.

 

“Though I suppose one need not look through the window when there is a perfectly good view through the front door! Isn't that right, Tohru? Right, Kyo?”

 

No response.

 

Quite odd, considering that his voice had slowly gained volume. But Shigure always loved a challenge.

 

Time to kick it up a notch.

 

“Oh my poor, defenceless house!” A wail. “As I have asked before, time and time again, what have I done to deserve such maltreatment?” Cue the arm wriggling. “Oh, for shame, for shame! Woe is me, I tell you, woe!” Sob. “I shall die homeless, like the dog I am!” Up with the dog ears. “And who would buy this dog in the window? Must I waggle my tail like -”

 

But before Shigure could go into detail about what he would waggle his tail like, after which he would sing chorus after endless chorus of `How Much is That Doggy in the Window?' until someone cried for mercy (which honestly wouldn't have been very long at all), the door creaked.

 

It creaked rather slowly, actually, and seemed to be a rather elongated creak (considering how short creaks usually are), as if whatever was causing the creak was having slight difficulties making it creak at all.

 

A long shadow fell across the wooden floor.

 

Shigure gasped.