Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Ebony and Ivory ❯ Friends?! ( Chapter 16 )

A/N: Ahem… insert Kyo acting like an idiot. In his defense… actually, I can't really think of a good defense, other than his usual denseness. One really does need a sledgehammer to get through to him… *sigh. Poor Yuki. *~*

 

A/N 2: Please keep reviewing! It keeps me excited, and I really want to know if I'm keeping these two at least reasonably in character. Thank you again for all of the reviews so far! The story is far from over.

 

 

CHAPTER 16: Friends?!

 

School started up again a week later. Tohru was her usual optimistic self, and ran to greet her friends right away. Yuki was in a good mood too, more than he usually was at school. Haru and Momiji came to greet them right away. Haru, of course, pretended to almost give Yuki a hug and was more than a little surprised when Yuki laughed and actually hugged him. Almost too surprised to hug him back, but not quite. Kyo rolled his eyes and looked away.

 

“You look happy,” he heard Haru say.

 

Yuki laughed again. “Yeah. A lot's happened… um… will you sit with me at lunch?”

 

“Of course,” Haru replied, still sounding a bit flabbergasted.

 

“Good. There's something I want to tell you.” He clapped Haru on the shoulder and followed Kyo and Tohru to their homeroom. “See you then!”

 

“See you,” Haru replied, beaming. That guy was so weird. Not that Yuki wasn't. Yuki was smiling almost as much. But then, he'd been in a really good mood this entire week, for some reason.

 

Outside homeroom, Uotani picked a fight with Kyo, and Yuki rolled his eyes and smiled as he got his things together for class. At lunch time, Tohru wanted all four Sohma boys, her, and her two friends, to sit together. Yuki sat between Kyo and Haru. Kyo bristled slightly. What was the damn rat doing?

 

“Hey,” he whispered.

 

“Hey,” Yuki said, thinking it was a greeting.

 

“Why are you sitting by me?” Kyo asked, a little louder.

 

Yuki blinked, looking confused. “Do you mind?” he asked with a half laugh, like he thought Kyo was joking.

 

“Yeah I mind! Sit somewhere else!”

 

Yuki's smile faded into deeper confusion. “But we sit together all the—”

 

“Shut up!” Kyo yelled. Like they needed to know about that.

 

“Hey, you guys seemed to be getting along pretty well earlier,” Uotani said. “What happened?”

 

“Yeah. I was beginning to think you'd become friends over the summer,” Haru stated.

 

“What the hell!” Kyo yelled. “Why would I ever want to be friends with that damn Yuki? I hate his guts!”

 

“Same old Kyon,” Uotani muttered.

 

Tohru looked pained. “But… Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun seemed to be understanding each other so much better…” she began, but stopped.

 

“I think Yuki and Kyo could be good friends though, yup!” Momiji said. “Don't you think so, Kyo?”

 

“No, I don't! Would all of you just shut up?”

 

“But you were acting like friends,” Hanajima said. “The vibes between you two were significantly less hostile. I noticed.”

 

“The hell with your vibes! I hate him! Got that? And I'm never going to stop hating him. So shut up!” Kyo saw out of the corner of his eye that Yuki had moved to sit on Haru's other side. Oh gosh, what was with him now? He looked bewildered. Haru put a hand on Yuki's shoulder, and Yuki relaxed and gave him a little smile, that meant “I'm okay.” His mask was back on, but it almost seemed lopsided, as though it were there out of sheer desperation. What was going on?

 

Yuki avoided Kyo for the rest of the day, and didn't talk to him on the way home. Kyo was relieved, except for the fact that Yuki kept looking at him with this confused, slightly hurt expression. Kyo didn't get it, and went up to the roof to think. Presently, he heard Yuki's voice from the side.

 

“Kyo?” He sounded hesitant. Why? Kyo hadn't had a problem with Yuki being on the roof in months.

 

“Hey. You can come up.”

 

Yuki made no move to do so. “What was up with you this morning? Did I do something? Were you sick?”

 

“No. You're fine. So am I. You were being weird is all.”

 

Yuki still paused on the ladder, looking uncertain. “Kyo, do you hate me?”

 

Kyo sighed a little. “I… said no before. You don't have to keep asking.”

 

Yuki looked at him for another moment, his expression unreadable. Then he climbed down. Kyo rolled his eyes and lay back. He couldn't help it if the rat was being weird. Yuki was confused. He would sort himself out eventually.

 

The next day at school was uneventful, except that Yuki started acting all weird again, when Kyo started yelling at him. After that, Yuki didn't even talk to him when they were at home.

 

After school on Wednesday, Yuki left to go practice piano. Kyo followed a few minutes later, and was shocked to find that Yuki was not at the stoplight where they usually met. He was a little worried, but he figured he would go on to the temple, and see if Yuki was there. Yuki was.

 

“Hey, what's up with you?” Kyo asked, going in. Yuki continued to play. “Why didn't you wait for me?” Kyo persisted. “We always go together!”

 

Yuki stopped. “I thought you wouldn't want to come.”

 

“When did I say that?”

 

Yuki still had not looked at Kyo. “Why would you want to spend the afternoon with someone you hate?” he asked in a flat tone.

 

“But I don't… hate you.”

 

“You said you did.”

 

“When?”

 

“At school. To Uotani. And Haru. And Momiji. And Honda-san.” He paused. “And me.”

 

“Well… Yuki, that's school.” Kyo smiled awkwardly.

 

Yuki turned on him. “So?”

 

“Well… Yuki… if we started acting at school like we do here, people would get the wrong impression.”

 

Yuki stared at him. “Yeah, those wrong impressions are pretty easy to give,” he said at last, looking away. “Apparently, I got the wrong impression too. I got the impression that we were friends.”

 

“I…” Friends?! Kyo was shocked silent for several seconds. There was no way in a freezing hell that Yuki would ever want to be his friend. Maybe he'd been insulted by the impression? “Sorry, I didn't mean… to offend you…”

 

Yuki blinked. “Offend?” He paused. “Kyo, I want to be friends.” He said it like it was a relief to finally do so.

 

Kyo stared again, mentally processing the words one at a time. “With me?” he finally asked in a tiny voice.

 

Yuki leaned his elbow gently on the piano keys, and his cheek against his hand. “No, Kyo. With the rug.”

 

Kyo glanced at the carpet he was standing on. “Why would you want to be friends with a rug?”

 

Yuki briefly closed his eyes. “Of course you.” He opened his eyes and looked at his cousin. “Kyo, I like you. I thought…”

 

“Wait.” Kyo's head was spinning, and he knelt. Yuki… the rat wanted to be his friend? The cat's friend? Whatever happened to being archenemies? Yuki liked him? Yuki liked him? It was so utterly absurd, so far removed from anything close to reality, that Kyo had never even bothered to think about the possible implications. Heck, he couldn't even wrap his mind around the cause of this, let alone think about the effects.

 

“Cat got your tongue?” Yuki asked, interrupting his thoughts.

 

Kyo refused to look up. “What the hell are you thinking?” he asked at last. “I'm the cat for kami's sake. What…” He put his forehead in his hand. “Are you insane?”

 

He heard Yuki stand up, and step closer, then saw his feet as he sat down on the ground. “No,” Yuki replied at last. “I've actually given this a lot of thought. And I don't care that you're the cat.”

 

“That's what I mean about being insane!” Kyo said, looking up. “Do you think the family doesn't care that I'm the cat? Do you have any idea what they'd think if they knew you wanted to be my friend?! What Akito would think?!”

 

“Don't worry about that,” Yuki said calmly, though Kyo could've sworn he saw him shiver. “What do you think about it?”

 

Kyo felt himself slump. “I don't know.” He closed his eyes, putting his forehead in both his hands now. How the hell was this even possible? He was the cat, and he'd been yelling at Yuki, hating him, their entire lives, and Yuki was the rat, and he'd not only seen Kyo's true form, but he'd touched it, and been hurt by it. Kyo couldn't imagine one more thing he could do to foster hatred short of killing the damn rat, and he sure as hell couldn't figure out any reason Yuki could like him! And yet… “I don't get it,” Kyo said at last. “I mean, I know you're lonely, but are you that desperate?”

 

Yuki blinked, surprised into silence for a moment. “I'm not… I mean…” he stammered, “Why do… how…”

 

Kyo looked on in a bit of confusion. “Yeah, I know you're lonely. You didn't seriously think you were hiding it from me, did you?” Yuki's eyes widened, and he looked down and away. Kyo shrugged. “You do know, don't you, that everyone in the entire school would kill to be your friend? Why the hell would you want me?”

 

Yuki sighed. “Because I like you.” Kyo said nothing, so Yuki continued. “You don't think it's possible that someone might just genuinely like you and want to be your friend, just because you're you?”

 

“Not you.”

 

“Why not me?”

 

Kyo raised his eyebrows at the question, unable to sort through the dozens of reasons on top of his head to choose just one to say.

 

“Kyo, do you really… not want to be friends?” Until now, Yuki had sounded casual, but now he looked vulnerable.

 

“No, I… I mean, I…” What the hell was the damn rat thinking? No, forget that. It was established that Yuki was at least temporarily insane. And obviously talking him out of his insanity wasn't working. So maybe it was best to play along. So Kyo tried to focus on the question.

 

Being friends with Yuki apparently meant piano days, and late-night expeditions for takoyaki, and sparring regularly. Maybe… maybe it would be nice, for however long it lasted until the rat either regained his sanity or got bored with him. But still… being friends with Yuki? Dozens of comments, from Tohru, Haru, Shigure—heck, even Kagura—came to his mind. But they didn't have to know. And honestly, being friends with Yuki wasn't that much weirder than not hating him. At this point, he might as well. “I guess… that would be okay,” Kyo said at last.

 

“Really?” Kyo looked up to see that Yuki's eyes were wide. The rat broke into a smile. “So then… you won't act like you hate me at school?”

 

“Oh.” Kyo hadn't thought of that. “But if I don't, people would get—”

 

“The impression that we're friends?” Yuki interrupted with narrowed eyes.

 

“Well… yeah.”

 

“You just said it was okay with you”

 

“But it would be weird at school, or around other people.”

 

“Why?”

 

“Because everything thinks I hate you!”

 

“Oh, well, if that's what everyone thinks, then you should definitely act like it. You wouldn't want to soil your reputation.” He sounded angry, and went back to the piano bench. Why did Yuki get mad so easily these days?

 

“What's with you?” Kyo asked after a moment. Then he stared, understanding. “You don't seriously expect me to treat you the same way at school as I do here, do you?”

 

Yuki had started to play again, and now stopped, staring at his music, or some point past it. “I don't get why you wouldn't. I do.”

 

“But that would be weird! I mean, here is here, and school is school.”

 

Yuki continued to stare at his music. His face softened. “No, I get it,” he said at last. “I understand. It's okay for us to be friends, just as long as no one knows about it, ne?”

 

Kyo sighed, relieved. “Exactly.”

 

Yuki nodded a little. He blinked once or twice. He looked calm, almost… resigned. Then he sighed. “I knew it was too good to be true.”

 

“What do you mean?” Kyo asked.

 

Yuki paused, then stated, “You don't want to be my friend. You're embarrassed.”

 

“Huh? No, I… I'm just saying because…”

 

“You're ashamed to be my friend.” Yuki's voice trembled a little. He looked at Kyo. “I'm not ashamed to be yours, you know. I'd love to call you my friend at school, and to the other Juunishi, but you'd probably freak out and deny it.”

 

Kyo sighed a little. “Yuki…” Damn it, why'd he have to take everything so seriously?

 

“What? Far be it from me to embarrass you. Just don't act like my friend if it bothers you so much. Because you're giving me the wrong impression.”

 

Kyo rolled his eyes and sat down next to Yuki. Yuki backed away a little. “C'mon, Yuki.”

 

“Come on what? I don't want to be your friend if you're ashamed of me.”

 

“I'm not ashamed of you.”

 

“You'd just be embarrassed if anyone found out that you like the rat.”

 

Kyo sighed again, feeling embarrassed at what Yuki had said, which made him feel a bit guilty. He looked down. “It's just… weird, is all. Give me a little while to get used to it.”

 

“To being friends?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“It's been months.”

 

Kyo didn't bother reminding Yuki that he hadn't realized it until just now. “Well, at school…”

 

“Kyo, you're not even trying. Even before, you said you didn't hate me, but at school you told everyone that you hate my guts. I'm supposed to be okay with that?”

 

“Okay, maybe not.”

 

“Maybe?”

 

“Just… it's weird, okay? I'm not used to not hating you. It's different. Give me a little while to sort myself out, okay?”

 

Yuki paused. “Okay,” he said at last. “Let me know when you're finished. Until then, don't come here. Because I only play for friends.”

 

“Wh-what? But…”

 

“You heard me. Go.”

 

“Yuki…”

 

“Go. I don't want you here.” Kyo merely looked at him for a second, certain he wasn't serious. “Why are you still here?” Yuki asked angrily.

 

“Fine! I'm going!” Kyo stood up and left the temple, irritated. But he figured Yuki would get over his funk sooner or later. It wasn't anything to worry about. So he missed one afternoon of hanging out with him. It wasn't the end of the world.

 

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>& gt;>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Kyo sat on the roof. Finally, he saw Yuki coming home. He looked miserable. Was he sick? Kyo jumped down from the roof. “Hey, Yuki.” Yuki walked past him. “Yuki…” He followed Yuki inside. “Hey, what's with you? Come on… do you want to spar with me?” Yuki paused at the beginning of the staircase. His hand gripped the banister. “Yuki, what's wrong? You're not still mad at me, are you? That was hours ago.”

 

Yuki said nothing and walked up the stairs, went into his room, and shut the door. Kyo was a little surprised, but figured he should give Yuki a little extra space until he calmed down. Clearly, Yuki was in a bad mood. He would get past it.

 

Yuki did not come down for dinner, though. Tohru was about to take food up to him, but Kyo offered to go instead.

 

“Oh my,” Shigure said. “That almost sounds like you care.”

 

“Shut up, stupid dog.” He took the plate of food up to the room. He knocked. “Yuki?” There was no response. “C'mon, Yuki, open the door.” Still no response. “I'm coming in.” Nothing. Kyo opened the door. Yuki was sitting on his bed, reading. Nothing in his demeanor betrayed that he noticed Kyo when he walked in. “You didn't come down for dinner, so I brought you up a plate.” Yuki didn't even look at him. His face looked icy. His mask was back. Kyo felt a sudden sense of panic. “What the hell is the matter with you? Would you get over yourself?” Yuki didn't answer, but suddenly his lips twitched, and he blinked a few times. At last, Kyo gave up, and walked out, rolling his eyes. He caught Yuki's gaze behind him, and managed to see it out of his peripheral vision. It was a look of hurt, and confusion, and complete distrust. Kyo went downstairs.

 

Days passed. If Yuki acknowledged Kyo at all, it was with dull, one-word answers. And that was only when he had to. Kyo kept trying to spar with him, and Yuki would merely side-step. Then Kyo would catch that look again—that look like someone would give a known con-artist, or a player. It irritated Kyo to no end.

 

School was even worse than home. Yuki distanced himself from everyone, especially Kyo, and wouldn't sit with the group anymore.

 

“Gosh, Kyo, what did you do?” Haru asked the second time. Then he went to the other side of the lawn to eat with Yuki. Yuki, for once, did not object when Haru wrapped an arm around him. Instead he smiled. He and Haru chatted for the rest of the day, and ate lunch together for several days after that. Yuki finally began to smile a little, but he didn't laugh. Several times, it looked like Haru asked what was wrong, but Yuki didn't answer. Kyo couldn't believe this was all over him. What did that damn rat want from him?

 

It was irritating to see those two together. Haru, spending time with Yuki like Kyo wanted to, and Yuki smiling at Haru and not even acknowledging Kyo. Yuki would ignore Kyo when he would pick fights. But at the same time, Kyo knew he was not being ignored, because he would always catch Yuki watching him, still with that look like he didn't trust him, and was waiting for Kyo to make his next move. Kyo could have sworn the words “stupid cat” were written all over his face, for all it kept getting reflected in Yuki's eyes.

 

On Sunday, Yuki went to his lesson, the second one he had had since his and Kyo's fight. Kyo went up to the roof, and stayed there alone. He had to figure this out. Why did Yuki want Kyo to call him a friend in public? That was weird, wasn't it? Why couldn't Yuki just pretend it was a game or something? Why did he take everything so damn seriously? They could hang out together, just not at school. And not in front of the other Juunishi. They used to have fun, didn't they? Why did it have to be at school too?