Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Mouse Trap ❯ IV ( Chapter 4 )

Mouse Trap

-

IV of ?

-

“Well, I must say, Yuki, I can't find any resemblance to you in the infants - but then, they probably take after Tohru-kun's side of the family, yes? By the by, when are you two getting married? Waiting until after school, I hope, an education is so important these days! And, of course, I will be creating Tohru-kun's glorious pricess-style wedding gown! Ah, it will be such a day of romantic fantasy, I can see it now - my dearest Yuki, dramatically clad in black silk - perhaps with just a touch of silver - and innocent Tohru in purest white! I have this new fabric in from Milan that is absolutely to die for!”

“Is he ever gonna' shut up?”

“Oh, u-um, ma-married? T-to Prince Yuki?”

“If he doesn't, I'll make sure to shut him up!”

“I cannot believe it, my little brother, first a father, and now a husband! Won't it be grand - oh, but I have to call Hatori - !”

“Don't you dare!”

“Aaya, I think that perhaps the children are a bit young to be speaking of marriage - “

“Yeah, you say that after you suggested the same thing the other day, hypocrite-Inu!”
Ayame tapped his upper-lip thoughtfully. ”Too young? Mmm. Perhaps you are right, Gure-san. You usually are. But they would make such a lovely couple, my Yuki and Princess Tohru, don't you think?”

Shigure chuckled uncomfortably. “Ah-ha...lovely, yes - oh, my, look, breakfast is already on the table! Tohru-chan is such a miracle worker!”

“Yes, yes, she certainly is! Yuki will be indebted to you for life, Gure-san, for turning Tohru-chan into such a magnificent specimen of house-wife!”

“A-ya-me - “ Yuki was growling under his breath.

Shigure sweat-dropped. “Oh, no, I'm afraid I can't take the credit for that! Tohru-chan was already such a good housekeeper when she first arrived here. Perhaps I just gave her the opportunity to polish her skills...?” the dog suggested.

“The opportunity to run herself into the ground, you mean,” Kyou muttered sullenly as he took his seat at the table.

Tohru paused for a moment as she began to serve tea. “Oh, no, not at all! I'm happy to do anything to help out, really! Besides, the practice will come in handy one day when I...I get married. At least, I hope I will. Get married, that is. I want to be happy just like Mom and Dad were, and if I can be a good home-maker, I know I'll be even happier! I just hope I'm a good mother, you know?”

“Of course you'll be a good mother, Honda-san!”

“Heh, do you really think after the way you've taken care of everyone around you, that you won't be? You really are stupid.”

“Don't tell her that!”

“Why not? It's true. She is stupid. She needs some self-confidence, is all.”

“Well, she's not very well going to gain any with you insulting her like that, baka-neko!”

“Shut-up! I-I didn't mean it like that - !”

“Didn't you?”

“I-It's okay, Kyou, Yuki, really, I didn't take it that way, not at all! Oh...” Tohru's small, distressed cry was lost in the sudden melee. White-faced, she watched as Kyou dove for Yuki's throat, upsetting the table, and one-by-one, the carefully arranged dishes went flying, slow-motion, into the air - the carefully grilled and artfully presented Horse Mackerel's, the delicately sliced rolled omelets, the dish of pickled cucumbers, radish, several little bowls of miso soup, and worst of all, the pot of the expensive green tea Shigure favored.

Tohru winced as an errant chopstick sailed past her cheek, and ducked to avoid a stream of still-steaming miso, and then yelped loudly and painfully as a cupful of hot tea landed on her lap, scalding her.

“Oh, dear, Tohru-kun! You've been burned!”

Tohru bit her lip as the burn began to fiercely sting. She took a helpless look at her soaked skirt, which she'd just recently changed into. “I...um...maybe, just a little. But I'll be okay!”

Yuki actually seemed on the verge of snarling. “Look what you did, you thoughtless punk! I told you what I'd do if you ever hurt her again!”

Kyou looked stricken, but stood his ground. It said a lot for his maturity that he stuck around instead of running away to the wilds like he would have in the past.

“Shut-up, bastard! It was an accident! You can hit me later - I'll - I'll go get her some ice!”

Ayame exploded into action as Kyou made for the kitchen. “Gure-san, quickly! Hand me that tea towel!”

“I'm sorry, I can't see, there was a piece of Daikon caught in my eye!” Shigure wailed dramatically, still clutching the watering eye with his hand. “Ow, it buuurns!”

“Tch - Tohru-kun, you must get out of that skirt quickly!”Ayame insisted.

“H-huh? H-here?” the girl asked, wide-eyed.

Shigure abruptly stopped clutching his eye and managed a watery squint in her direction.

“NO. WAY!” Yuki shouted, a wild look of panic in his eyes.

“Such perverted thoughts at a time like this!” Ayame sighed anxiously, and pulled Tohru to her feet. “Yuki-kun carry her to the shower! Tohru-kun, soak in some cool water, while I call Hatori. Go now, quickly!”

-

“No blisters, that's good, and the swelling is slight. It looks like it's only a first degree wet burn. You're very lucky, Honda-san. I'll treat it with a topical spray, and leave it for you to use when the pain becomes uncomfortable. The swelling and redness should go away quickly, within a few days. You may not even be able to tell you were burned by this time tomorrow.”

Sitting alone in her room with Hatori looking at her bare upper legs made her feel unbelievably shy and embarassed, and combined with the pain and lack of sleep, Tohru suddenly burst uncontrollably into sobs and tears. Her shower-damp hair slid forward to cloak her face, and she let it stay there.

“Honda-san?”

Tohru looked at him with a trembling lower lip. Startled, Hatori peered at her through his one good eye in concern, and that made her cry even harder.

“Are you in that much pain?”

Tohru just shook her head, unable to speak for the tightness of her throat.

Hatori didn't say anything, but looked as if he understood. Turning aside for a moment, he reached into his bag and produced a small can. He sprayed it over the affected areas on her thighs and then recapped it, setting it on her bedside table.

“It should numb the sting in a few moments,” the doctor said quietly.

“T-thank you,” Tohru choked out in a very small voice, ashamed of herself for losing control of herself in front of the stoic doctor like that.

“Ayame said you were awake all night? Something about those baby rats downstairs?”

Tohru nodded, feeling some of the tightness leave her throat. “Yes. I know it's silly, but I had to stay near them. I was too worried about them to stay away.”

Hatori almost smiled. “It's not silly at all. But you do need to catch up on your sleep, Honda-san. I want you to stay in bed today, and let those legs heal. And you need to sleep.”

“Oh, but - “

“No. Doctor's orders. Let someone else take care of you for one day, Tohru Honda.”

The door was suddenly thrown open, and Ayame and everyone else came storming in, arguing.

“What are you doing?!” Kyou demanded, swiping the snake's now-loose hair out of his face as he followed him.

Yuki frowned at his brother as he ripped open Tohru's bureau drawer. “Ayame, put her clothes back!”

“No! I'm taking Tohru away!” Ayame said petulantly. “You obviously do not deserve her, and this senseless violence all the time is not good for her! She can stay with me from now on! Unlike the rest of you brutes, I know just how to take care of innocent flowers - oh, tsk, Tohru-kun, we really must see about replacing your delicates, dearest! You really should have silk, not cotton against your tenderest of skin - ! I know, we shall go shopping in my store first thing tomorrow! I have a lovely stock of the sheerest lingerie - ”

Kyou choked. “No way in hell!”

“Over my dead body,” Yuki said, his deadly calm voice at odds with the brewing storm in his eyes.

“Ayame.” Hatori said in his quiet, but authoritative voice.

“Yes, Hatori-kun?”

“We should go now, and let Tohru rest. Why don't we go and look in on the rats for Honda-san? Kyou and Yuki can make her comfortable before they come back down.”

Ayame actually looked like he might argue for a second, but then he sighed and replaced Tohru's clothes back into her drawer.

“All right, Tori-kun. But I absolutely will not leave Tohru-kun alone with these two until they promise not to fight around her again!”

Kyou and Yuki looked surprised. Gone was the flamboyant snake, and in his place was an unusually adamant and reserved...adult.

“You really think we would hurt her?” Kyou snapped.

Ayame turned angry golden eyes on him. “On purpose? No. But downstairs you did it all the same, because you couldn't control yourselves around a sweet young lady. She deserves better.”

“Oh, and you think you're 'better?”

“Well,” Ayame drawled, “I certainly wouldn't fling hot liquids at her!”

“How many times do I gotta' tell you, it was an accident!”

“Yes, it was, and what if the next one causes her a broken bone? Or a serious head injury?” Hatori chimed in bluntly.

Ayame crossed his arms. “Promise me - no more fighting around Tohru-kun.”

Kyou and Yuki looked at Tohru, sitting in her bed with the sheet so gingerly pulled over her lap, and looked at eachother, and then the floor.

“We promise.”

-

Outside in the hall, Ayame looked at Hatori and smiled. “Do you think it will last?”

“I don't know,” the dragon responded. “I hope so. I certainly don't need anymore house calls than I already have to deal with - oh yes, that reminds me, I should probably take a look at Shigure's eye before I leave.”

“It's nice to be remembered,” Shigure moaned pathetically in the background.

-

Ayame, surprisingly, ended up remaking the breakfast, and he brought some up to her on a gracefully arranged tray, complete with a glorious white flower. That sweet gesture alone brought Tohru to tears again.

“There, there, Tohru-dear, I know you're overcome by my generosity of spirit, but you must eat something, get a little sleep, and you'll feel so much better. Here, Tori sent these to help you rest, just these two, and just for today, don't worry.” He handed her orange juice and two small blue tablets.

“Okay, thanks.” Tohru swallowed the tablets, and then tucked into the food. She was really hungry.

“Wow, this is really great! I didn't know you could cook, Ayame-san!”

Ayame winked. “Don't let it get around too much! Yuki-kun will expect me to cook whenever we're together. It is another little known talent of mine, dear Tohru-kun, because I don't often make use of it! To tell the truth, I'm far too lazy to cook for just myself, so I usually just go out to eat.”

“I'd cook for you anytime, Ayame-san!”

“Why thank you, Tohru-kun! To tell the truth yet again, I much prefer your cooking to mine. Compared to your delightful meals, my efforts are quite mediocre!”

“Oh, not at all! This omelet is much fluffier than mine - how did you get it this way?”

“Milk instead of water, except wresting the carton from Kyou-kun was quite the hassle, I must admit.”

Tohru smiled widely. “Well, the result was worth the effort!”

“I thought so too,” Ayame agreed shamelessly, and they both laughed.

Not too long after, Tohru began to get sleepy, and Ayame left her with a fond 'goodnight' even though it was still technically morning.

Cheered, and reassured that the babies would be looked after, Tohru drifted into a deep, restful sleep, resolving all the while to make sure Kyou and Yuki were both okay as soon as she woke up. Kyou, espescially - she never wanted to see that expression of self-loathing on his face ever, ever again...

-

TBC

-

A/N: Hi, me again! Sorry the chapter took a little bit more serious turn than I expected! The humor and just a teensy bit of romance should pick up in the next chapter. I also know that Ayame is a bit OC, considering we all know he's probably never lifted a finger in a kitchen in his entire life, LOL. I just thought it would make a nice twist, just this once. And please don't think that I'm putting Tohru down by having her state that she'll be happy just being a 'house-wife'. I'm pretty sure she herself states that she's not really interested in going to college somewhere in the manga. Anyway, I sincerely hope the chapter was to your liking! Thanks so much for your comments! - Shaynie

P.S. Daikon is a radish if anyone is curious! ^_^

-

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, or any characters from it. Fruits Basket is the property of Natsuki Takaya, Hakusensha, Inc., and TOKYOPOP.

-