Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Ebony and Ivory ❯ Running Away ( Chapter 33 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket

 

A/N: This picks up right after Saito.

 

A/N 2: Yes, I'm posting early, because I'm going to be on vacation and away from my computer for several days, so I won't be as prompt as usual.

 

 

CHAPTER 33: Running Away

 

“How's Yuki?” Kyo asked as soon as he walked in the door.

 

Tohru was just beginning to set out dinner. “Ah, Kyo-kun, welcome home! What's wrong? Have you been running?”

 

Kyo waved aside the offered handkerchief. “Is Yuki asleep?”

 

“No. Actually, I was just about to take him his dinner.”

 

“I will,” Kyo said with a smile. “Okay?”

 

“Um… okay!” Tohru beamed. Kyo felt like beaming too, but realized that if, for some reason, Yuki was protecting Tohru by hating Kyo, Kyo would also have to play the part. He would show that damn rat. He got his own plate of food. He wanted to eat with Yuki. He wanted to see if there was any sign of a lie in his manner. He went upstairs, and into Yuki's room.

 

The room's aura shocked him. He had forgotten how cold it was in here. Then he looked at the lilies. Color. Good. Yuki hadn't thrown them away, which meant one of two things: either that Yuki liked them, or that he didn't care about them one way or the other. “Hey, I brought you food. You have to eat it.” Yuki didn't turn. Kyo reminded himself that Yuki didn't know what Kyo knew, and was still depressed. “Ne, Yuki.”

 

Yuki turned around. “You again?”

 

Ouch. Remember, he's acting. Maybe. Please, please, please… “Yeah. Eat your food. I brought mine too, so we'll eat together.”

 

“Why would I want to eat with you?”

 

“Do you want me to go?”

 

Yuki said nothing, and turned away. He doesn't. “So what's with the flowers?” Yuki asked.

 

Kyo looked at them. “I figured I'd try to bring some life into this room. This place is like a tomb. Since when if your room spotlessly clean?”

 

“Hatori did it.” He took a few bites of his food. “Those flowers are dead. They die when you cut their stems.”

 

Kyo rolled his eyes. “At least they look alive. Which is more than I can say for you.”

 

Yuki shrugged and took another bite of his food. “Why do you care?” he muttered.

 

Kyo had to risk it. “Because. Because I like you.”

 

Yuki's eyes widened and he turned to Kyo. “Still?!” He sounded alarmed.

 

Kyo grinned, feeling almost insolent. “Frustrating, isn't it?”

 

Yuki blinked, his eyes suddenly filled with feeling. Then he turned away. “Why?”

 

“Because I feel like it.”

 

“If you're trying to be friends again, it's not going to happen.” His voice sounded annoyed, but his eyes looked sad, unless it was Kyo's imagination. Then he sighed. “You're chasing the wrong rat.”

 

Kyo felt a little hurt, and wondered whether he had it right after all. “I'm not chasing anything. I'm just watching the hole. Because I feel like it.”

 

“I hope you get bored eventually.” Yuki took another few bites. “Anyway, you shouldn't like me. I'm the rat, remember?”

 

“You know I don't believe that anymore. And I can like you if I want to.”

 

“I don't like you.”

 

Kyo paused. “You need to get better. You told me you would.”

 

“When?”

 

“When you were sick. I told you to get better and you said you would.”

 

Yuki froze. His eyes widened. He wouldn't look at Kyo.

 

He knows what he said. “So get better. Okay?”

 

Yuki pressed his eyes shut. He looked like he was about to scream.

 

“And don't you dare go back to the Main House like an idiot.”

 

Yuki jumped, and looked up. “How…”

 

“I heard you tell Hatori.”

 

“Sneak!”

 

“I'm only doing it for your own good.”

 

Yuki looked panicked, almost to the point of anger. Kyo wondered if there really was something at stake of he found out that Yuki didn't hate him, if it was at all true. He decided to give Yuki a break. It might at least make him feel a little better. “Yeah, you were pretty much delirious,” Kyo said, “when you were sick. I doubt you even heard half of what I said. You were kind of out of it.”

 

“What did I say?”

 

“Not much. Just my name, because you were trying to tell me what to do but couldn't.”

 

“What did I call you?”

 

Kyo paused. “Kyo. What else would you call me?”

 

“Just Kyo?”

 

Kyo hesitated just slightly. “Yes.”

 

Yuki looked at him closely. Then he relaxed slightly, and looked away. “Okay.” He ate the last few bites on his plate. “I'm finished.”

 

“Get better.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Kyo smiled at him and left the room, carrying down their plates.

 

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

 

Yuki listened to Kyo walk down the stairs. Why on earth does he still like me? Yuki lay down, but couldn't fall asleep. He didn't understand. Before it had taken mere embarrassment for Kyo to turn away from him, at least for a little while. And now, after all Yuki had done, after how badly Kyo had been hurt, he still liked Yuki?

 

Yuki closed his eyes. Kyo had acted so normal. So much like before. That was the longest conversation he had had with Kyo in months, and it reminded him so much of how things used to be. Kyo's smiles had felt so good. He had wanted to smile back at Kyo, and laugh. What scared him was that he had almost done so. But he hadn't called Kyo “Kyo-nii.” Right? Or would Kyo have lied about that? There had been a slight hesitation before… but why would Kyo lie about that? Unless he felt like he was playing along… like he didn't really believe Yuki hated him. Was he catching on? How?!

 

Damn it! What do I have to do to get through to him? I've done everything but try to kill him, and he still likes me?! Does he not have a point of no return? Yuki sat up and buried his head in his hands. I want him back. I want him back so badly. Yuki was breathing hard, and it hurt. Do you want everything to be for nothing? Don't you get that he's still in danger? “I know,” Yuki whispered. “But what can I do?” You were fine before. You're slipping.

 

“Yuki?”

 

Yuki jumped and looked up. Hatori stood at the door. “Hatori…”

 

“What are you doing? Are you all right?”

 

Yuki closed his eyes for a moment, head spinning. “Hatori… did I call him Kyo-nii?”

 

“When?”

 

“When I had my attack. Did I call him Kyo-nii?”

 

“Yes. Several times.”

 

Damn it! No wonder he doesn't believe me anymore! But still, wouldn't it take more than that? “Hatori, I want to go back to the Main House.”

 

Hatori sighed. “We'll talk about this later.”

 

“No, I want to talk about it now. I want to go back to the Main House.”

 

“Why?”

 

“I don't need to explain myself. Take me back.”

 

“And who will you stay with?”

 

“I don't care. I need to go back.”

 

Hatori sighed again. “I suppose you could stay with me.”

 

“Fine. Take me.”

 

“Yuki…”

 

Yuki took a deep breath. I have to do it. I have to get out of here, or I'll give everything away. “Hatori, if you don't take me back with you, I'll call Akito and tell him to come and get me.” That's probably what he wants, anyway.

 

Hatori turned to him sharply, his eyes dark and wide. “What?”

 

“I said I'll tell Akito to come and get me.” The words made Yuki's blood run cold, but he didn't care. What did it even matter at this point?

 

“Are you threatening me?”

 

“I'm only stating a fact.” Yuki's voice was cold and hard. His eyes showed no indecision. “So?”

 

Hatori was angry. Yuki knew that Hatori thought he wouldn't actually go through with calling Akito. If he was honest with himself, Yuki wasn't sure he would either. But he knew Hatori would consider it just strong enough a possibility for it to affect him. “You little rat,” Hatori muttered.

 

“Exactly,” Yuki hissed.

 

Hatori glared. “I was not trying to joke.” He put his face in his hands. “Damn it, Yuki.” He sighed heavily and sat in silence for several minutes. “I go back Sunday,” he said in a flat voice. “Be ready by then and I'll take you back.”

 

Yuki felt a thrill of terror, but quickly stifled it. “Agreed. Promise me.”

 

“I… promise. Unless you change your mind. You should.”

 

“I won't.”

 

Hatori pressed his lips together. For a moment his eyes actually seemed to mist. Then he blinked them and rose to his feet. “I'll be back in a little while. I'm going to talk to Shigure.”

 

“Okay.” Yuki watched Hatori leave. Then he very slowly got out of bed and went to his dresser. He shivered, suddenly realizing that the room was somehow colder than he had realized before, then pulled his suitcase out of the closet, and began to pack.

 

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

 

Hatori went into Shigure's office without knocking. Shigure thought he looked like a storm cloud. “What's wrong?” he asked.

 

Hatori sat down across from him. It was nearly a full minute before he could speak. “He wants to go back to the Main House. And he said that if I don't take him, he'll call Akito and tell him to come and get him. I had no choice but to agree.”

 

Shigure stared at him blankly. “Yuki?”

 

“Who do you think?” Hatori snapped. “He's insane! I swear, he's got to be trying to throw his life away if this is how he's behaving.”

 

“He wants to go back permanently?”

 

“He said it's just until he gets better, but at the rate he's going, who knows how long that will take. Anyone else would have been back to school by now. And besides, once Yuki's back, judging from what I've seen, he won't have the will to fight his way out again. Because the Main House is familiar. And if he comes back…”

 

“Wait,” Shigure said. He put his forehead on his hand, processing. “Yuki wants to go back to the Main House. Why?”

 

“He wouldn't say.”

 

“And you said you'd take him?” Shigure glared at his friend.

 

“I had no choice, Shigure! Would you rather he call Akito?”

 

“Do you think he would?”

 

Hatori sighed. “I don't know. But you should have seen his eyes, Shigure. They were like flint.” He shook his head. “I know he would have waited a day or two before calling Akito, but… he seems determined.”

 

“What set him off?”

 

“He asked if he had called Kyo `Kyo-nii.' When I said yes, he had, he said he wanted to go back to the Main House. He had mentioned it before, but he wasn't this insistent until now.”

 

Shigure couldn't believe it. “Well then it must have something to do with Kyo.”

 

Hatori was silent for a moment. “So it would seem. He wouldn't answer yesterday, when I asked if he hated Kyo. It's almost like he wants to be Kyo's friend, but something's stopping him.”

 

Shigure thought about it. “And if he has to convince Kyo that he hates him, he may be running to the Main House because he's afraid of giving himself away.”

 

“The question is why.”

 

“Well I'm sure we both know who.”

 

“Who?” Hatori looked at him blankly.

 

“Akito.”

 

Hatori's face registered surprise. “Why would Akito want Yuki to hate Kyo?”

 

“Haa-san, don't you realize that Akito's been pitting them against each other since they were born? They're stronger together. They always have been, even before they knew it. If they were friends, allies… it could make Akito's power over them crumble to the ground.”

 

“I wonder what his hold over Yuki is.”

 

“Assuming, of course, that our surmise is correct.”

 

“What do you think?”

 

“I don't know what to think. It's only Thursday. You're here until Sunday, right? We'll figure it out before then. I'll talk to Yuki tomorrow. Why don't you get some sleep, Haa-san?”

 

“I still haven't checked on him.”

 

“So do that quickly and then go to sleep. You have dark circles under your eyes.”

 

Hatori looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “All right. I'll talk to you in the morning.”

 

“Goodnight.” Shigure looked back at his computer screen. He had suddenly been struck with an inspiration.

 

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A/N 3: And so I leave you, my good readers, with yet another cliffhanger. *Evil grin! See you soon!