Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Ebony and Ivory ❯ In Full Possession of his Senses ( Chapter 21 )

A/N: Again, not the end. Please keep reviewing! Next chapter will be up soon, and that's when things get interesting. Sorry these have been taking longer than usual. There's been a lot of family stuff going on lately at my house—good stuff, but definitely the “keep you away from your laptop” stuff. Thank you for your patience!

 

A/N 2: About those perspective switches… I think I'll just separated them like I do scenes. You guys are smart. You can figure it out. I'll try to start each scene with the person's name whose perspective it's in, or at least something that's very specific to them. Gomennassai, but it really isn't my fault—I can't format the way I want to on MediaMiner. Sorry about the hype-type that gets mixed in. Nothing I can do about that, either.

 

 

CHAPTER 21: In Full Possession of his Senses

 

Kyo was beginning to wonder if Yuki's logic was gone for good. They were only getting closer, and months had passed. Yuki had laughed at Hatori's raised eyebrow, and had ignored Hiro's sarcastic remarks. Or at least, he had until Hiro started on his usual comments about how the cat didn't deserve such-and-such—Kyo hadn't really paid attention, being used to it—and Yuki had glared at the brat and actually defended Kyo. Kyo had tuned in immediately and stared. Yuki, catching his gaze, looked at him confused, as if to ask why he looked so surprised, before turning back to berate Hiro. Hiro, for once, had been stunned into silence.

 

“It's so weird,” Kyo told his Shishou one afternoon in October.

 

“What is?” Shishou asked, confused.

 

“This whole thing with Yuki. I mean… I really like being friends with him. And I think he really does want to be friends with me, but… I don't get it. There's no reason for him to want to be my friend, and I keep feeling like at some point he'll come to his senses, but he hasn't yet, and…” Kyo broke off, not wanting to complete the thought.

 

“You're afraid to trust him?”

 

“I just… don't know.” Kyo sat down on a bench, and his Shishou sat beside him. It had been the same way with Shishou for the longest time. He still could hardly believe the man really wanted to be his father. It was too good to be true. The cat was never supposed to be that happy, and certainly didn't deserve to be. It had taken him years—almost a decade—to really trust Shishou.

 

“You're wrong, you know,” Shishou said at last.

 

Kyo turned to him. “About what?”

 

“Yuki having no reason to want to be your friend. He does.”

 

Kyo shrugged. “He says it's `cause I'm honest with him. But I mean, what's the big deal about that?”

 

“Do you know how exceptionally rare that is in this family? To have someone who will always be honest about how they feel toward you, and what they think of how you're acting? Moreover, someone you can be honest with?”

 

“But he's not honest with me. I'm just really good at seeing through his mask for some reason.”

 

“Exactly. And because you're like that, little by little, he feels less and less like he needs to hide from you. For Yuki, lying has always been a necessity, and he hates it.”

 

“Why? Has lying been a necessity, I mean?”

 

“Being that close to Akito, one learns to say the right things.”

 

Kyo paused. “Shishou, do you know why he's so scared of Akito?”

 

The man sighed. “I know some things. Nothing very specific, but enough to know… that things were rough. But I really think you should wait until Yuki is ready to tell you.”

 

Kyo grew tense for a moment, and shivered. “Do you think he ever will be?”

 

“I don't know.”

 

Six months. Kyo shivered again and pushed the words out of his head. He would not think of that right now. If he thought about it even once before the end, he would fall into despair, and he was not going to spend the next six months sulking. He was going to spend them training, and he was going to beat Yuki. He was, even if they were like brothers, he was still going to beat Yuki. It was a matter of survival.

 

“Kyo?”

 

“I want… to get to know him better. And there's like… this barrier or something, that I can't get past. I don't think he really trusts me either.”

 

“Well one of you needs to take a step forward. For all you know, he could feel the same way about you. Do you think there's nothing you hide?”

 

Six months. And Tohru… and it… and Mother… and… and her… Kyo squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered again. Kami-sama, he'd hate me. He swallowed.

 

“Kyo…”

 

Oh yes… Yuki would definitely come to his senses sooner or later. No matter how much he wanted to play at defying the zodiac, the fact still remained that Kyo was a monster—would always be a monster. A monster who would eventually be locked up, before he could hurt anyone else. Maybe it was for the best. He didn't want to hurt Yuki.

 

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

 

Yuki did his homework quickly. Kyo would be back soon from the dojo, and would probably want to spar with him, and hang out afterwards. So Yuki rushed. Maybe his work wasn't quite as thorough as it used to be, but it didn't really matter. He was usually too thorough—an overachiever even by Japanese standards. And honestly, he was kind of tired of it.

 

It had taken over a month to perfect the delicate balance between school and—Yuki laughed to think of it—social life. Yuki had never had a friend to hang out with before. There was Honda-san, of course, but she didn't demand his time like Kyo did. Yuki had to smile at the idea of Honda-san demanding anything.

 

At last, he finished the last sentence of the paper he was working on, and went downstairs, just in time. Kyo was walking in the door. “You're back!” Yuki called from the stairs, coming down.

 

Kyo looked depressed for some reason, but his face cleared at Yuki's welcome. “I'm back,” he replied with a smile.

 

But Yuki was concerned. “Are you okay?”

 

“Just a lot on my mind.”

 

Yuki raised an eyebrow. “Come on, Kyo-nii, you ought to set a good example for me by telling me what's wrong.”

 

Kyo looked a bit taken aback—it wasn't like Yuki to be this forward—but then he laughed, though he still looked a bit pained. “It's… too many things to explain. Had a long conversation with Shishou, and it kind of brought up some stuff… not really anything new, though.” He shrugged, and in that moment Yuki saw that Kyo could hide just as well as he could, only his mask was made of fire instead of ice. They had more in common than he had ever realized. Suddenly, Kyo straightened up, looked confused, and turned to Yuki. “What did you call me?”

 

Yuki thought back to his words. “Um… Kyo-nii*?” It had been impulsive, in his head from the idea of Kyo setting a good example, like a big brother should. Now that he'd come up with it, he liked it. “Do you… mind?”

 

Kyo stared, his expression alternating between confusion, disbelief, and… hope? His face suddenly went a shade redder. “I… I guess not,” he stammered. “I'm younger than you, you know.”

 

Yuki shrugged. “Only by a few months. So… is it okay to call you that?”

 

“Um… yeah…” His face darkened another shade. “Yu… Yuki-nii.”

 

Yuki beamed. First he had been accepted as a friend, and now as a brother! Kyo blushed even more when he finally turned and saw Yuki's face, but he was smiling now, albeit shyly. To break the awkwardness of the moment, Yuki lightly punched his arm. “So, Kyo-nii, think you can beat me today?”

 

He slammed his fist into his palm and followed his cousin out the door. “You bet I can!”

 

Kyo did a little better this time than he normally did, and seemed more determined than usual. But he still had very little guard. Yuki sighed this time when he won. “Kyo, you have got to pay more attention to your defense. That's why I keep winning.”

 

Kyo picked himself up and scowled, and went to the porch to sit down. Then he relaxed a little, and looked a bit sad. “Yuki… do you think it's possible for me to beat you?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well… you know…”

 

Yuki sat beside him. “I do?”

 

“They say… the cat was made so he can never beat the rat.”

 

“Who says that?”

 

“Akito, for one.”

 

“Ah.” So that was why. Kyo didn't ever expect to win. That was why he kept losing. Yuki felt a bit frustrated for some reason.

 

“What do you mean, `ah'? And what's with that look?”

 

Yuki looked him in the eye. “Copout.”

 

Kyo blinked. “What?”

 

“You're copping out. You're blaming it on the cat. Stop being stupid and work on your defense. If you keep thinking you can't beat me, you're right, it will never happen.” He stood up and made to go inside.

 

Kyo stayed where he was, sitting very still. “Yuki-nii,” he said, just as Yuki was putting his hand on the doorframe.

 

“Yes?”

 

There was a pause. “Will you… come to the dojo with me sometimes?”

 

Yuki was surprised. Kyo had really taken him seriously, apparently. He considered. He hadn't been the dojo in years, and felt a little awkward there, but… He looked at Kyo, who was staring ahead, not looking at him. His hands gripped the edge of the porch. This was clearly important to him. “Sure. Maybe… once every week or so.”

 

Kyo relaxed, and turned to him slightly as though seeing if he were serious. Then he smiled a little. “Okay.”

 

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

 

Yuki seemed to really enjoy the dojo after a few visits, and Kyo found himself not minding as much anymore when Shishou talked to Yuki. He laughed at his old self, who wanted to keep Shishou all to himself. Of course, that part of him still existed in traces—only now, he wanted to keep Yuki all to himself.

 

It was kind of stupid when he thought about it. He wanted Yuki to get involved with other people. But that selfish part of him said it was all well and good for Yuki to get involved with other people, as long as it didn't take away any of their time together. He would have to get over that real fast. Only… Yuki didn't usually seem to mind, as long as Kyo didn't get too jealous of the time he spent doing homework. The damn rat spent so much time doing homework!

 

Oh, and then there was Saito-san. Saito-san, who Yuki spent every Sunday with. Four whole hours, when there was no school, and Yuki wasn't doing homework, and he was playing the piano for someone else. Of course, it did seem like Yuki was just as close to Saito-san as Kyo was to his Shishou, and Kyo liked to spend time along with Shishou, but… he couldn't help feeling a bit left out as he watched Yuki put on his jacket and backpack.

 

“Kyo-nii?”

 

Kyo turned, startled from his thoughts. “Yeah?”

 

“I forgot to ask, are you busy this afternoon?”

 

Kyo blinked. “Um… no.”

 

“Want to come with me, then?” Yuki asked with a smile. “There are going to be a lot of leaves to rake, and Saito-san said you could come and help if you wanted.”

 

Kyo merely stared for several seconds. “Yes,” he said at last, barely able to think straight. Yuki was inviting him to a piano lesson? Kyo hadn't even said anything! This meant… Yuki wanted to be with him, even at Saito-san's! He quickly put on his jacket and shoes and followed Yuki out the door.

 

Yuki laughed. “What are you so thrilled about?” Kyo shrugged, and Yuki laughed again.

 

He had been right about the leaves. They were thick under the boys' feet as they walked through the woods, and whirled through the streets in the city. “Wait, isn't this the way to the temple?” Kyo asked after a little while.

 

“Yes; we need to go there first to get the music, remember?”

 

“Oh yeah.” Kyo smiled again, and was still smiling by the time they had retrieved Yuki's music books and were on their way to Saito's house.

 

“What are you so happy over?” Yuki asked laughingly. “We're just going to Saito's house for piano and leaf-raking. It's not like you've never heard me play piano.”

 

“Yeah, but…” Kyo paused. “But it's like you're letting me in on a secret… or something. You never let me go before.”

 

“You never asked.” Yuki looked at him curiously. “Did you want to go?”

 

“Well, I just thought it was kind of off-limits.”

 

Yuki smiled warmly. “Well at the beginning, back when you hated me. But now you can ask. Just as long as you're okay if I say no.”

 

Kyo fell silent. It had never occurred to him that it was okay to really ask Yuki for things. He didn't usually ask anybody for anything, except maybe Tohru for food. It was one of those things he was taught not to do. “Are you sure?” he asked.

 

Yuki smiled again. “Of course. I mean, you are one of my best friends.”

 

Kyo closed his eyes. How on earth did Yuki always manage to say what he wanted most to hear? And really mean it, to boot. “Yeah,” he said, blushing a little. “You too.”

 

Yuki turned to him, then laughed and gave his shoulder a squeeze before going up to a vaguely familiar house and ringing the doorbell. It opened quickly.

 

“Ah, Yuki-kun, and Kyo-kun too, I see. Yuki told me he would try to bring you this week. It's good to see you again.”

 

Kyo awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah… good to see you too.”

 

Saito invited them in, and they went first to the kitchen. “Yuki said you don't like sweets… are sushi roll-ups all right?”

 

“Oh, sure,” Kyo said, a bit surprised at how much Yuki had planned for this. “You let him know a week ahead of time and only let me know two minutes ahead of time?”

 

Yuki laughed. “I wanted to surprise you. I knew you didn't have plans.”

 

Kyo rolled his eyes and took a roll-up. They were surprisingly good. “You ought to have him teach you how to cook, too,” he commented to Yuki.

 

“Oh, shut up.”

 

Kyo laughed. “No, I'm serious. Then we wouldn't have to get take-out whenever Tohru's not around.”

 

Yuki refused to answer. “Now, now,” Saito said. “I thought you two were getting along.”

 

Kyo raised an eyebrow. “We're still cousins, you know. Family never gets along all the time.”

 

Saito rolled his eyes, but he smiled. He seemed to have a much easier time coming up with conversation topics this time than last, and they ended up talking about martial arts. Kyo kept wondering whether he enjoyed it for its own sake or only because Kyo liked it. He always seemed reluctant to spar, but then he got into it.

 

At last they got to Yuki's lesson time, and Kyo asked so many questions that Saito threatened to separate them if Yuki didn't pay attention. Yuki just laughed. “I wouldn't. If you did, Kyo would get upset, and then neither of us would be able to concentrate.”

 

“Hey!” Kyo said, folding his arms.

 

Yuki grinned at him, then turned to Saito. “See what I mean?”

 

After the lesson, they went out to rake leaves. Still irritated over Yuki's teasing, Kyo immediately challenged his cousin to a contest to see how many leaves they could rake. They couldn't decide on that one, so Yuki challenged Kyo to how many bags they could each fill, whereupon the raking turned into an argument because they couldn't decide whose leaves were whose. Saito demurely began to fill the bags himself, which stopped the boys from fighting. After that they worked together.

 

Afterwards, Saito invited them both in for tea—well, it was supposed to be tea, but Kyo, who couldn't stand tea, opted for milk—and they chatted for a while before Yuki went back to the piano to practice. Kyo was surprised at how easily he got along with Saito. They finally had common ground to stand on, and it was nothing like the first awkward conversation they had had. Things had changed so much. Kyo sat on the floor beside the piano and watched, and saw Yuki turn to smile at him several times. For the first time, he thought maybe Yuki really was in full possession of his senses. He must have had something to offer, because Yuki really wanted to spend time with him. Kyo relaxed. It was true. And everything was okay now. And he never wanted it to end. Maybe it wouldn't. He felt safe now. Safe enough to trust.

 

Somewhere on the way home, Kyo suddenly stopped and pulled Yuki into a hug. Yuki's first reaction, of course, was to try to step back—typical Juunishi reaction—but then he let Kyo hug him and hugged him back tightly. By the time Kyo let go, Yuki was smiling. “What was that for?” he asked.

 

“I don't have to explain myself to you,” Kyo said with a smile he hoped looked cunning. He walked a little ways ahead. “Come on, let's get home! I want to spar.”

 

Yuki laughed, and walked faster to catch up. “Okay.”

 

_________________________________________________________________ ____

*-nii—short for nii-san. You've probably seen it in manga, that they'll call their older cousins that. It's also used for friends who seem like older brothers. I'm not positive about this, but I think putting the -nii a the end of a cousins name when they're about the same age is a term of affection and respect—that that person's kind of like a big brother. It would mean a lot to Kyo, too, because it would show that Yuki considers him family, and not an outcast.