Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Ebony and Ivory ❯ Bracelets and Barbie Dolls ( Chapter 43 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, which belongs to Natsuki Takaya, or Barbie, which belongs to Mattel (I think).

 

A/N: This is kind of my comic relief chapter. After everything else, it's kind of necessary. Enjoy! And don't stop reviewing, please. I enjoy hearing from my wonderful readers. :-)

 

 

CHAPTER 43: Bracelets and Barbie Dolls

 

Yuki woke to a clap of thunder. He sat upright in bed, staring straight ahead. When he realized it was just a storm, he started to go back to sleep. But then he opened his eyes, groggily. Something wasn't right.

 

He sat up, putting his legs over the side of the bed. He tried to place the problem. At last, he heard something downstairs. He rose to his feet, still half asleep, and went downstairs to investigate. Upon reaching the floor, he was greeted by a cold gust of wet wind. He looked toward the door. It was open, and had been moved from its track. What was more, one part, near the edge, was torn. Yuki felt a thrill of fear. Did someone break in? He went to the door, meaning to shut it. Then he saw something outside that looked like torn cloth. What?

 

He ran out, barefoot, and picked up a piece, trying to figure out what it was. In a flash of lightning, he saw it. It was a piece of flannel. From a pajama shirt. Kyo's pajama shirt. What happened to Kyo? Where is he? Yuki looked around wildly. There were no signs of blood. But there were signs of a struggle, then after the struggle, footprints retreating. Yuki went over to one of them. His heart skipped a beat. It was the print of an enormous claw.

 

Yuki stared at it for a moment. It couldn't possibly be the print of anything natural. Then he panicked. What was it? Had it hurt Kyo? Then suddenly he stopped, feeling stupid. Idiot. It's raining. It is Kyo. Yuki started to follow the prints, then stopped, noticing one of his own. Yuki, don't be an idiot. His inner voice was starting to sound a lot like Kyo. He impatiently ran inside and put on his boots and coat, heedless of the mess he was making. He grabbed an umbrella and ran out.

 

He followed the trails for a little ways, then stopped, his heat skipping several beats. He hadn't prepared himself. He put his hand on a tree trunk to steady himself. “Kyo?” he said.

 

Kyo turned, startled. Then he looked angry. “Damn it, Yuki, go inside!” he roared. “Are you trying to make yourself sick?”

 

Yuki waited until he had managed to calm himself, then went closer. “You don't have to be out here,” he said. “You could come to the porch.”

 

“It wouldn't make a difference.”

 

“Yes it would. The porch has a long roof.”

 

“I don't want to be that close to the house. What if someone woke up?”

 

“Okay.” Yuki unfolded the umbrella, and went close to Kyo, holding it over both of them. He started to kneel.

 

“Yuki, stop. Go inside. You're making extra laundry for Tohru, and you're going to catch a cold.”

 

“Then let's sit on the front porch.”

 

“I'll stay here! You go inside!”

 

“No.” Yuki leaned against a tree.

 

Kyo stared at him for a moment. “I can't drag you back to the house without hurting you,” he said. “So will you just stop being an idiot and go inside? If you get sick, it'll be my fault. I know you care. You don't have to prove it.”

 

“I'm not trying to prove anything.”

 

“If I sit on the porch, will you go inside?”

 

“No, but I'll be much less likely to catch a cold on the porch.”

 

Kyo narrowed his eyes. “Blackmailer.” He growled. “Fine.” The relief in his voice was almost tangible. Yuki was also relieved. His breath was beginning to catch.

 

Once they were on the porch, Yuki sat next to Kyo. He brushed against Kyo's arm and shivered. “You're so cold,” he said.

 

“I think my true form is cold-blooded,” Kyo replied. He already sounded significantly calmer.

 

“Do you want me to get you a blanket?”

 

“Blankets only work if you've got natural body heat. I think.”

 

“That's fine. I'll be right back, okay? Don't run.”

 

“Shigure's going to kill you for making such a mess.”

 

“He'll understand. And I'll clean it up.” Yuki grabbed a blanket and ran back out. Again he was caught off guard. For some reason, he could never get used to seeing Kyo in his true form. He felt bad about it, but there was nothing he could do. Now he spread the blanket around Kyo, and curled up next to him.

 

“Wha… what are you doing?” Kyo stammered.

 

“Trying to warm you up,” Yuki said, wrapping part of the blanket around himself and hugging his knees. “That's what they do in the military, you know. When they have to sleep outdoors, they put people in pairs, close together, to keep warm. Simple thermodynamics.”

 

“You don't have to.”

 

“I want to.”

 

“Yuki, I'm disgusting. You don't need to pretend I'm not. It's not worth it.”

 

“You made leek stew for Honda-san once.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“So she would get better. Remember?”

 

“Yeah, and then you got mad at me for stealing your leeks.”

 

“That's beside the point. You think leeks are disgusting, right?”

 

“Okay, I see your point. But that sort of paled in comparison.”

 

Yuki shrugged. “The principle still holds. It's worth it to me.”

 

“You're tired.”

 

“So are you.”

 

“But I can't sleep. You can.”

 

“Kyo, do you seriously think anything you say is going to make me leave you here and go inside?”

 

Kyo thought for a moment. “No,” he muttered at last. “Damn stubborn rat.”

 

Yuki laughed. “So stop arguing.”

 

“I still have some hope of appealing to your reason,” Kyo said. “I'll be fine as soon as I change back. If you stay out here and get sick again, it could take you days to recover. And if you're sick, we won't be able to spar tomorrow. So you should go inside.”

 

“If I go inside, I won't be able to sleep.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because I'll be worrying about you.”

 

“You don't have to worry about me. And you can't sleep out here either.”

 

“I'm not tired.”

 

“Liar.” Kyo turned to Yuki. “You really should go inside.” His voice held very little conviction. Yuki had already won.

 

“I'd rather not.”

 

“You still have to spar with me if you're sick.”

 

Yuki smiled. “Okay.”

 

“Will you at least go and get your inhaler?”

 

“Sure.” Yuki got up and went inside. He got his inhaler and another blanket, and his pillow. Then he went back out. This time his breath didn't catch. If this keeps up, I might actually get used to it. He sat down next to Kyo again and wrapped the blanket he had brought out around his legs before resuming his position. He looked out at the rain, lost in thought. He had to think of some way to get the bracelet back. He hated to see Kyo go through this.

 

“Boys?” said Shigure's sleepy voice at the door. “What are you doing?”

 

Kyo stared at him with an unreadable expression.

 

“Just sitting,” Yuki replied. “Sorry if we woke you up.”

 

“No, that's all right,” Shigure replied. “Are you two warm enough?”

 

“Well, we have blankets and stuff,” Kyo replied.

 

“Would you like some hot chocolate? Kyo-kun, I can probably get a bowl for you.”

 

Kyo paused. He had never tried eating or drinking anything in this form. He hadn't been able to figure out how it would work without lips. “I guess I could try drinking it like a cat,” he said at last.

 

“I'd like some,” Yuki said.

 

“All right. I'll bring you both some. Be back shortly.”

 

Yuki looked at Kyo. “You okay? You look dazed.”

 

“He wakes up, comes out, sees me in my true form, and says, `Boys?', as though we were playing cards or something.”

 

Yuki laughed. “That's Shigure for you.”

 

“Does he react to anything?”

 

“I think he's missing whatever neural connections are needed to freak out about things. Remember when you crashed through the roof, when you first met Honda-san? He just came up and said casually, `Yuki-kun, I just heard a terrible noise. By any chance has Kyo come home?'”

 

“Well you weren't all that surprised either.”

 

“Actually, for a split second I was glad to see you. But I had to cover up any reaction. That was what we were like back then.”

 

“You were glad to see me?”

 

“Believe it or not, I actually was a little worried when you up and vanished off the face of the earth.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Quit acting so surprised,” Yuki said, annoyed.

 

“Hot chocolate,” Shigure said, coming out. “For you, Kyo-kun, and for you, Yuki-kun. I believe I'll have a cup with you, if you don't mind. After all, I would be fascinated to know what you lovebirds are talking about.”

 

“You're only saying that because you know I can't wring your neck,” Kyo growled.

 

Shigure laughed. “Dear me, Kyo-kun, I would never do something so obviously wicked!” He wasn't shaking. Not even slightly.

 

“Oh, I figured it out,” Yuki whispered. “Shigure has no adrenaline.”

 

Kyo made a strange noise that sounded like something between a choke and a growl. Yuki was startled for a moment, but then decided it was a laugh. “Maybe we should get him tested.”

 

“What are you whispering about?” Shigure asked.

 

“Nothing,” Yuki replied.

 

Kyo started moving slightly jerkily, and gave a small growl. Yuki sat up a little. “What are you doing?”

 

“Wishing I had opposable thumbs,” Kyo grunted.

 

Yuki looked around. Kyo was trying to pick up his hot chocolate. “Here, why don't you cup your hands?”

 

“Easy said.” Kyo managed after a moment to sit with his legs over the side of the front porch. After a few minutes, he had his elbows back and his claws cupped. Yuki set the bowl in them. Kyo managed at last to take a sip. “I wonder if this is how a Barbie doll feels,” he said randomly. “Haru said once that Barbie's legs are completely out of proportion to her body, and that she wouldn't be able to support the top half of her body, so she'd end up walking on her hands and knees. Only problem is, she's made of plastic, so she can't bend her legs.”

 

Yuki laughed a little. “He would say something like that.” He shrugged. “Personally, I think I'd be more afraid of a life-sized Barbie doll. I've heard she'd be about nine feet tall.” He looked out at the rain, trying to imagine a nine-foot tall woman who looked like Barbie, on her hands and toes, with legs that wouldn't bend. “Creepy.”

 

Shigure laughed. “Ah, Yuki-kun, you have no sense of romance! All you would need is a ten-foot-tall Ken to sweep her off her feet.”

 

“Ken's top-heavy too,” Kyo commented. “They'd end up collapsing.”

 

Yuki laughed. “Don't you just love the intellectually stimulating conversations we have at four in the morning?”

 

“I have no intellect at four in the morning,” Kyo replied, drinking some more of his chocolate. Suddenly the bowl slipped, and fell on the ground. Kyo gave a slight moan of pain as his arms and legs shrunk and his body returned to normal. Yuki hadn't even noticed that the rain had stopped. “Ouch,” he groaned. “Damn it. It's probably going to rain again, and then I'll change back.” He sighed. “It doesn't hurt as much when I'm stable.”

 

Yuki wrapped a blanket around him, then an arm. “I think it'll be okay. It looks like the storm passed. Want to go inside?”

 

“Sure.” Yuki helped him to his feet. “Damn that Akito,” Kyo groaned. “I need to get that stupid bracelet back. What the hell is he thinking?”

 

“You realize, of course,” commented Shigure, “that this means he doesn't see you as a dangerous monster. If he thought you were a hazard to society, he wouldn't have taken it.”

 

“Like Akito gives a damn about society,” Kyo muttered. “What do I care what he thinks, anyway?”

 

But Yuki was looking at Shigure. If Akito doesn't think Kyo is a danger to society, why is he being locked up? And if he does think so, why has Kyo been free for so long? It's not like can just disappear. He has friends out here. It's stupid. Akito's just doing it because he can, to be cruel. Yuki's anger burned. I've got to do something. Before it's too late.

 

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

 

It was Wednesday, a day and a half after Kyo had last turned into his true form. He lay in bed, vaguely wondering if Yuki's cough had recovered. Yuki kept getting so close to recovery, and then he would do something stupid like stay out for an hour in the rain with Kyo, and get sick again. But he wasn't that bad. He just had to be sure to take his inhaler to school.

 

Kyo listened to the dishes clink downstairs. Tohru, making breakfast. She had been concerned yesterday, and kept telling Kyo that he should have woken her.

 

“Are you stupid?” Kyo had replied. “I already had one person who was going to get sick because of me.” By which he meant, of course, that he had been fine. Just as long as he wasn't alone.

 

Kyo listened to the rain on the roof. His stomach churned. Then suddenly he sat up, panicking. Got to get out— he stopped. He stared at his wrist. “How the hell…?” He touched the bracelet tentatively. It was solid. He wasn't dreaming. Got to make sure. He ran down the stairs and out the front door. The rain poured over his skin. His wonderful, wonderful human skin. He laughed loudly. He looked inside and saw Yuki and Tohru standing at the door.

 

“Look!” he shouted, holding up his left arm.

 

Yuki's eyes widened. “How…”

 

“I don't know!” Kyo said, grinning. “Look, I can stand in the rain!” He laughed again, and turned his face toward the sky. “I've never loved the rain so much in my entire life!” He ran to the porch and hugged Yuki and half-hugged Tohru.

 

“What's going on?” Shigure asked, yawning. Kyo held up his arm. “Oh my,” Shigure said. “That's lucky.”

 

“How did it get there?” Kyo asked him. He looked at all three of them. “Shigure?”

 

“What makes you think I had anything to do with it?” Shigure asked.

 

“Did anyone come while we were asleep?” Yuki asked.

 

“Not that I'm aware of,” Shigure replied.

 

“Then how did I get it back?” Kyo asked, very confused.

 

They all looked blankly at each other, then looked again at Shigure.

 

“Why is everyone looking at me?” asked Shigure demurely. “Really, you young people are so quick to jump to conclusions. Kyo-kun, would you please get out of the rain? I don't want you to make my house all wet.” With that, he went inside.

 

“Notice, he didn't deny it,” Kyo said.

 

“Don't ask questions,” Yuki replied. “Questions are dangerous. Just be glad.”

 

“Hey, that's right!” Kyo said. “Now you have to stop being upset! So there!” He swaggered into the house, past a beaming Tohru. “I'm going to school!!!” Kyo crowed when he got into the house.

 

Yuki laughed, and clapped Kyo on the shoulder before racing him up the stairs to get ready.