Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Ebony and Ivory ❯ Wish Come True ( Epilogue )

Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and never will own Fruits Basket. Natsuki Takaya did, does, and always will. :-D

 

A/N: This is kind of sad, coming to the end, but it was fun. Did you like it? I enjoyed posting it. Thank you to all of my loyal readers, and to all of the wonderful people who wrote me reviews! You make me feel like a success! :-) Well, I might try posting again whether or not people ask me to, if I decide any of my random fanfics are good enough to finish and publish. Thanks again to everyone!

 

 

EPILOGUE: Wish Come True

 

Saito had his back turned to the door when he heard a customer come in. He was in the middle of balancing a stack of books, so he couldn't turn around. “I'll be with you in a moment,” he said, trying to even the stack as it began to fall. There was no response. At last he managed to steady the books and set them on the shelf. He turned toward the door. There was no one there. Then he heard the piano.

 

He whirled around, nearly knocking over the stack of books he had just set down. There was Yuki, sitting at the piano, with Kyo standing next to him, leaning against it. Both were smiling.

 

“Yuki!”

 

Yuki laughed, rose to his feet, and hugged Saito tightly. “I missed you so much, Saito-sensei,” he whispered. There were tears in his eyes.

 

Saito hugged him closely, while Kyo apparently decided to be the voice of practicality. “Yuki can play the piano again,” he said, still smiling. “We found out yesterday. There was a lot going on and stuff, so he couldn't come then, but he wanted to come here right away after school. So of course I came with him.”

 

Saito laughed. “Of course.” He held Yuki at arm's length, looking him over. He felt his eyes moisten. “You've gotten so much taller.”

 

Yuki laughed. “No, I haven't.” His eyes sparkled as bright as amethysts. “Sensei, I can play now whenever I want, wherever I want! Akito said I could!”

 

“Did he really?”

 

“Yep,” Kyo said. “He was acting kind of weird, but hey, I'm not complaining.”

 

Yuki looked at Kyo, and smiled. A glance passed between them.

 

“Did I miss something?” Saito asked.

 

“It's nothing,” Yuki said, hugging him again. “Saito-sensei… do you think… see, I'm a little out of practice, but…”

 

“Ha!” Kyo said. “You're just as good as you always were, so quit with your damn modesty.” He turned to Saito. “He played in the park where I saw you before, like half a dozen songs that I've never even heard before. He said he's got more. He's been writing in his head, apparently.”

 

“The mark of a true composer!” Saito said, putting a hand on Yuki's head.

 

“Well, I wondered if I could start taking lessons again.” Yuki's eyes were shy, but hopeful.

 

“I would like nothing better,” Saito said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Shall we see how you're doing at it, and then have something to eat? I have tea… oh, and milk. And there's a bento shop across the street.”

 

“That sounds great!” Yuki said excitedly. “Shall I?”

 

“Play, play!” Kyo said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. Saito did the same.

 

Yuki laughed a little. “Wow, I've got a major audience here.” Then he took a deep breath and breathed out slowly, and placed his fingers to the keys.

 

Yuki had been correct. His fingers were unaccustomed to the piano and had lost some of their nimbleness, though it was quickly coming back. But the music… the music had improved, if anything. The first song Yuki played was very long, completely new, yet somehow familiar. At last the song drew to an end.

 

“I agree with Kyo,” Saito said.

 

Yuki blushed a little. “I've had that one in my head for a long time. I wanted you both to hear it at once. I'm going to write it down when I get the chance.”

 

“What's it called?” Kyo asked.

 

Yuki smiled. “It's a secret.”

 

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

 

“Haru?”

 

Haru turned abruptly. Yuki was standing at his bedroom door. “Amazing! If I didn't know better I'd think Yuki came to the Main House to see me!”

 

Yuki rolled his eyes. “Will you stop being weird?” he asked, laughing. “Come on. There's something… I want to show you.”

 

“Oh? What?”

 

“It's a surprise.”

 

Haru raised his eyebrows, promptly closed his video game, and rose to his feet. “I'm intrigued.”

 

Yuki laughed again. “Come on.”

 

Haru followed Yuki down the stairs, where Kyo, Honda-san, and Shigure were standing. “Oh, hey guys! Are you part of the surprise?”

 

“No, we're being surprised as well,” Shigure said. “By Yuki-kun and Kyo-kun.” Haru noticed then that Shigure had his arm in a sling, and a scar on his jaw. He wondered how that had happened.

 

“Well, mainly by Yuki, but I'm helping,” Kyo said. “So let's get going.”

 

Haru smiled, and they all left the house. On the way out of the Sohma complex, they picked up a somewhat unwilling Hatori. But then again, a surprise from Yuki was such a rarity, it was hard to say no. Curiosity alone was a draw, even for the dragon.

 

Yuki and Kyo led them along a very unfamiliar path. Both boys seemed excited, and Kyo kept turning around and telling everyone to hurry up. Yuki laughed.

 

“Calm down, Kyo-nii. We have ten minutes to get there and it's a five minute walk.”

 

“So where are we going?” Tohru asked.

 

“That's part of the surprise,” Yuki said.

 

“What's the occasion?” Hatori asked, slightly suspiciously.

 

“To thank you all,” Yuki said, stopping for a second. “You can't know how much your support has meant to me over the last few months.”

 

Honda-san blinked in surprise. “But I didn't do anything. Hatori-san took care of you when you were sick, and Hatsuharu-san came and visited you, and Shigure-san…”

 

“Interposed for me with Akito,” Yuki finished. Shigure looked surprised. Yuki smiled. “I catch onto these things. Honda-san, you visited me and made meals for me, and more besides that.”

 

“Come on, you guys,” Kyo said impatiently. “We can talk when we get there.”

 

“Well, he seems to know where we're going,” Shigure commented.

 

“A mystery,” Haru replied.

 

At last, they arrived at a house, and Yuki knocked on the door. A strange man opened it instantly, and smiled to see them.

 

“This is my family,” Yuki told him, gesturing. Everyone bowed.

 

“Oh!” Shigure said in surprise. “Saito Kanto, ne?”

 

“Once,” the man replied. “Sohma Shigure, right? Won't you all come in?”

 

Three confused Sohmas and one confused Honda followed Yuki and Kyo and the man into the house, after taking off their shoes. As they did so, Yuki made introductions.

 

“This is my cousin Hatsuharu, and my cousin Hatori, who's also my doctor. And you know Honda Tohru.”

 

“Good to meet all of you,” the man said.

 

“Everyone, this is Saito Kanto, my piano teacher.”

 

“Piano teacher?” asked three voices simultaneously. The only one not heard was Haru's, because Haru just smiled. He should have known.

 

“You still play piano?” he asked.

 

“Yes,” Yuki said, smiling. “That's why I especially wanted you to hear. Before it was a secret, because Akito said I couldn't. But now he says I can.”

 

“Akito took back a ban?” Haru asked, eyes widening. “Think he'll make a habit of this?”

 

“I hope so,” Yuki said.

 

“Will you all have some refreshments?” Saito asked, leading them into the kitchen. He had just removed the kotatsu, so they all sat at the table.

 

“So… what are we doing here, exactly?” asked Hatori.

 

“You'll see in a few minutes,” Yuki said.

 

“Yeah,” Kyo said. “You don't want to miss out on Saito-san's cooking. He's almost as good as Tohru.”

 

“Eh?” Honda-san said, blushing, waving her hands in front of her. “I'm not good at all!”

 

“I know otherwise,” Saito-san replied, smiling. He turned to all of them. “Yuki's been taking lessons from me for the last two years. He's extremely talented. Since you were all instrumental in helping him get it back, directly or indirectly, he wanted to play for you.”

 

“That would be wonderful!” Honda-san cried, clasping her hands. “I love music!”

 

Haru smiled. He had never heard Yuki play before. He nodded happily at the thought. Yuki seemed to be encouraged. At the present moment, he seemed to be having so severe an attack of shyness that Haru was vaguely worried that he would transform.

 

“You seriously don't want to miss this,” Kyo said to Hatori and Shigure, who seemed to feel a little awkward. “Just start playing, Yuki. It's fine.”

 

“Um… yeah. In a minute.”

 

Shigure laughed. “It's okay, Yuki-kun. We'd love to hear you.”

 

“Yosh.” Yuki's face was slightly pink.

 

“Ne, Yuki,” Kyo said, “it's an audience of six, two of whom have already heard you play. How are you ever going to perform on a stage?”

 

“Perform? Stage?” Yuki asked, sounding slightly panicked. Haru couldn't help smiling.

 

Kyo raised an eyebrow. “Gosh, you're jumpy.”

 

“When has Kyo heard you play?” asked Hatori.

 

“That… was actually how we became friends… because Shihan came to visit Saito-sensei and brought Kyo, except Saito-sensei didn't know shihan and I were related, so… it was all an accident, really. But Kyo heard me play and wanted to listen, and made me let him…”

 

“I didn't make you, you damn rat!”

 

Yuki rolled his eyes. “Well, we spent time together and chatted and… the rest is history.”

 

“And present,” Kyo said. “Akito wouldn't let him play for the last couple months, when he was supposed to hate me to keep Akito from taking my bracelet.”

 

“That was what everything was about?” Haru asked.

 

“Oh. Yeah, didn't you know?”

 

“No. Yuki never gave me an explanation.”

 

“Sorry,” Yuki said. “But you knew that Kyo couldn't come to school because of that, didn't you?”

 

“No, I knew about the bracelet. I just hadn't completely made the connection. I thought it was Akito's punishment, but I didn't know it was a threat.”

 

“Yeah, and it was winter. You know, all the water. That's why Yuki was so worried.”

 

“Got it. How long did Akito have it, by the way?”

 

“About two weeks,” Kyo said. “Fortunately, Yuki brought me back my homework when he started going to school again.”

 

“And how did you get it back?” Haru asked, confused.

 

Kyo looked at Shigure and Hatori. “One of those two, if I had to guess.”

 

“Oh, so suspicious,” Shigure said.

 

“Idiots,” hissed Hatori suddenly. “Don't you realize where we are?”

 

Everyone fell silent. Saito looked at Hatori. “It's okay,” he said. “I've heard a lot of weird things in my time. I just don't ask.”

 

“So anyway,” Yuki said, slightly shakily. “I've only been playing piano again for about a week, but I've got it back pretty well. Should we go to the living room?” He gave Hatori an intense look, that clearly said “don't you dare touch him.” Hatori gave him a look back that meant “I know nothing.” Did Saito-san know about the curse?

 

Haru smiled as he watched Yuki sit at the piano. Yuki closed his eyes until the room became silent, and then began to play. Even after being told that Yuki was talented, Haru was unprepared for what he heard. Yuki brought the piano to life. Or perhaps the piano brought Yuki to life. Haru couldn't tell. All he could do was watch.

 

Yuki played for nearly twenty minutes, the Sohma family's private concert. Afterwards, he took requests, nearly all of which came, surprisingly, from Hatori. The dragon was evidently a fan of classical music. Haru was glad when he realized that Yuki was making Hatori smile. Tori-nii smiled so rarely.

 

“Kyo,” Yuki said at one point, “Do you remember Heart and Soul?”

 

“I… think so,” Kyo replied. He tentatively sat beside Yuki, and they played. It sounded like some American song from the `30s. Kyo actually didn't do that badly, for all he looked like a nervous cat.

 

When the song was finished, Saito-san began to gather dishes, and Honda-san instantly rose to her feet to help him. But she was wearing an unusually long skirt, and as she stood, she tripped on it, and fell into Kyo. There was an explosion. The music stopped.

 

“I'm so sorry!” Honda-san cried. “I'm sorry!”

 

“Just watch what you're doing next time,” Kyo-cat grumbled. He crawled out from his clothes. Hatori sighed. Haru nervously turned to Saito, wondering what his reaction would be. It wouldn't be easy to cover this up. But Saito just looked a little worried. Did he already know?

 

“Kyo-kun, the bathroom is down the hall if you'd like to go there for when you change back.”

 

“I'm staying until I know Hatori's not touching you,” Kyo said, sitting against Tohru's side. She wrapped an arm around him. “He already knew about it,” Kyo said. “There's no reason to erase his memories if he's only one person. It's not like he's going to tell anyone.”

 

“Why wasn't anyone notified?” Hatori asked, wearily.

 

“This was years ago, Hatori. Before Honda-san. I didn't want Akito to erase Saito-sensei's memories, or make me stop playing the piano.”

 

“How did he find out?” Shigure asked.

 

“It was when I fell through the ice,” Yuki replied.

 

“So that's why you were so nervous!” Shigure said. “And… so you knew Saito-san before then, before he brought you home that one time.”

 

“Yes,” Yuki said. “He's also the `librarian' who walked me home that time I stayed out too late.”

 

Hatori sighed and stood up. “Don't let Akito find out and I won't do anything. It shouldn't be too difficult. Are you in agreement, Shigure?”

 

“Oh, absolutely,” Shigure said. Wow, those two were getting bold. Hiding information from Akito?

 

“Thank you,” Yuki said, reassured. Kyo jumped up on the vacated piano bench.

 

“See? I told you it wouldn't be that big of a deal.”

 

“I never said it wasn't a big deal,” Hatori said.

 

“Oh, stop taking things so seriously,” Kyo replied. He briefly rubbed his head affectionately against Yuki's arm, then jumped down, and had Tohru drape his folded clothes over his back before going into the bathroom. A few minutes later, Kyo returned, doing the second-to-the-last button of his shirt. “Well, that's more good news,” he said to Yuki. “Now you can be sure Saito-san's not going to forget.”

 

Yuki smiled. “Do you know…” he said quietly to Kyo, who had sat beside him, “this is the first time in my life that I'm not afraid to hope.”

 

Kyo smiled and wrapped an arm around him. Then Yuki turned around, back to the piano, and Kyo resumed his seat. It was funny seeing how eager the cat was to listen to the music. Haru had never known Kyo liked music.

 

“That's the one you played before, isn't it?” Kyo asked when it was over. “At Saito-san's shop?”

 

“Yeah.” Yuki smiled.

 

“So, will you tell me what it's called now?” Kyo asked.

 

Yuki smiled at him, eyes shining. “Wish Come True.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE END