Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Seasons of Sorrow ❯ Memories of Spring = Coming to an Understanding ( Chapter 23 )

DISCLAIMER: Um, no, not yet. Maybe someday…this fanfic will do for now.

 

 

Memories of Spring

— Coming To An Understanding —

 

 

The scene resembled ants on the move, constantly darting from one end to the next. So many were focused on their assigned tasks, they paid scant attention to the bickering by the usual pair.

 

(Shrill whistle) “Hey! You! Get that up here!” yelled Uo.

 

Kyo retorted, “Feh, get it yourself!”

 

“Ano, I'll help out. Where do you want this?” asked Tohru.

 

Sighing, Uo replied, “Tohru, let that lazy bum do that! Get to it, Orangey!”

 

“Shut up, damn Yankee!” yelled back Kyo as he began to help out to keep Tohru from straining herself with the large box.

 

“Baka neko, less talk, more work,” commented Yuki with a narrow gaze while keeping notes on a clipboard.

 

“BAKA NEZUMI!” cried out Kyo at Yuki's sudden appearance.

 

Today was a far cry from any normal day. It was the day of the Class Dance and everyone was helping out with the last minute decorations. Very last minute…pretty soon they would all have to pack it up and head to their homes to get cleaned up for the night.

 

Everyone was looking forward to this event...all three grade levels. Who knew that so many students attended Kaibara High, and every single one of them was looking forward to this huge event that the senior class was hosting for the student body. It was to be the biggest bash ever in the school's history…

 

Since all three grade levels were invited to come to this main event, many had scrimped and saved throughout the year to get the perfect outfits for this day. Of course, the seniors attended to their studies with the usual zeal for their college entrance exams, and now that those were behind them, they welcomed this occasion with open arms. After all, it was to be their very last gathering as part of the student body before graduation.

 

Yet, the real main event was with the ladies of this fair school. Many were going all out just to catch the eye of a certain gray-haired beauty. It was common knowledge that Yuki had no date for this grand event, hence a large portion of the female population at his school were doing their utmost these past few weeks to literally drop at Yuki's feet to beg for just even one dance with him. There were just so many desperate girls that Kakeru had to intervene and rescue his beloved `lady fair' from the clutches of the hormone-driven females…and was he ever helping.

 

As Yuki took note of the progress being made on one aspect of the decorations while sorting out bouquet arrangements and still taking a call about broken dishes for the dance tonight, another girl nervously darted out in hopes of hugging Yuki and begging him for just one small favor at the dance. Kakeru, as Yuki's self-appointed manager, stopped the girl in her tracks.

 

“Kita-chan, you know the rules. Any and all requests for dancing, speaking, or even smelling Yun-Yun from a distance of 5 feet must be submitted in an approved written form by 2 PM that day. Anything received after that hour will be processed the next day,” Kakeru informed the poor girl while slapping her face with written rules and regulations. “These forms will have a processing fee of 5500yen plus shipping and handling, tax not included. Cash, PayPal, bartering is all fair game, NO checks. Credit cards accepted upon credit approval. I suggest you read the fine print first. Oh, by the way, you are aware of the betting pools that are currently still open? Who will kiss Yun-Yun first, who will dance with him, who will manage to take off his (BEEP, BEEP)? I'm holding a special right now…”

 

(SMACK!)

 

“Baka,” remarked Yuki irritably as he dragged the unconscious VP back to his assigned duty of telling the caterers how to handle the buffets and such. The poor girl could only look on in shock, but quickly snapped out of it as she hurriedly read the rules and regulations that Kakeru gave to her.

 

“Yuki-kun, would you like the table over in this direction? It'll show off the decorations and be out of the way of traffic,” reasoned Tohru with a grin.

 

Returning her smile and dropping Kakeru on the ground with a thud, he replied, “Certainly, Tohru-san, that's perfect.”

 

Kakeru quickly stood over Yuki's shoulder and quietly murmured, “Hm, I better up the stakes on that betting pool…”

 

Yuki's eyebrow twitched in annoyance as he turned around to face his `pimp'. Through clenched teeth, he bit out, “I already told you that I AM NOT participating in your sick games. You had better find a way to fix…”

 

“Shush, say no more, great master,” bowed Kakeru low before Yuki. Standing back up, he winked at him, “But you've got to admit it's keeping the rabid fans away! And don't worry about them…the fine print has you covered every which way.”

 

Sighing in defeat, Yuki slipped past his VP in hopes of just rubbing those moments out of his memory for good. Today was a day of gargantuan proportions, and as the President, he had much to do. He had been up at the crack of dawn along with the others (trust him, he was scarcely awake for the first few hours) to get to the site and set up decorations and such. The main things were pretty much taken care of by the caretakers of the site, but he still wanted to contribute as much as he could. They were, after all, getting a free ride on this, and he didn't wish to seem ungrateful for it.

 

It was then that Yuki felt a gaze boring a hole through his head. He turned around only to find that Hana was staring at him once again. It was becoming more frequent as of late that he'd catch her with that strange look to her. Yet, it always held a hint of a smile. Yeah, it wigged him out a bit. Smiling nervously, he asked, “Hanajima-san, is everything alright?”

 

`Intriguing…very warm.' Hana stared at him deadpan, “Of course. Where would you like these booths set up?”

 

“Er, over where the stage will be set up by the white orchid floral arrangement. Arigatou.” Yuki continued walking past her in hopes of ridding himself of her stares. Finding solace under a tree, he quietly breathed in and tuned out all the hubbub going on around him. Closing his eyes to the world, he thought dismally, `I'm overreacting. Man, I need a break.'

 

The latter thought was also shared by his obstinate cousin. Kyo was busy hanging off a tree, tying a ribbon from one branch to another for an elaborate decoration that the girls in the class had designed. He was frustrated in many ways at how he was being manipulated to do the hard jobs that somehow always had him literally up a tree.

 

`Damn Yankee, it's all her fault. Stupid, freakin'…' were Kyo's thoughts while he sat back against the tree. He was not looking forward to going back down and facing any more ordering from the tall blonde.

 

`Argh…this is stupid. No tall girl is pushing me around,' thought Kyo exasperated as he started to climb back down. He just then heard Uo's commanding voice directing other poor saps, er, classmates on how to properly set up the beverage table. `Nah, I'll wait it out up here.'

 

Sighing heavily, he closed his eyes as a breeze blew by, swaying the branches softly, taking his troubles away with it. Troubles… Opening his eyes, he glanced towards Tohru's presence in the middle of the courtyard, seeing that she was running around along with everyone else. He should really get down there to help her, but with Uo around…

 

`What's stopping you?'

 

“Eh?” questioned Kyo, suddenly sitting up, swearing that he heard her voice up there with him.

 

`Well?'

 

Half-expecting to be standing in the usual field of blossoms with the lone tree, he was surprised to still find himself sitting in the same spot. Seeing that no one was around, especially this far up the tree, Kyo sat back against the tree. Closing his eyes, he breathed out heavily. `It's official. I'm insane.'

 

(Giggles softly) `No you're not.'

 

“Yeah, and talking to someone that's not even here with me is all part of the norm. Now you tell me who's crazy here,” replied Kyo sarcastically.

 

(Pause) `Is it really that unusual?'

 

Sighing, Kyo shifted in his seat, staring back down to Tohru running around below. “You tell me. You're below running around like a mad chicken, yet you're still here in my head talking to me.”

 

`Would you have preferred our usual rendezvous spot?'

 

Feeling very uncomfortable at this point, not to mention a bit apprehensive, Kyo remained silent.

 

`If I had us meet there, you may fall down. That wouldn't be pretty, ne?'

 

Kyo was now resolute to get away from there, fast. Standing on his branch, he prepared himself to jump down to the next, when another breeze, more forceful this time, blew through. He braced himself against the tree for a moment, letting out a small sigh of relief.

 

`Gomen nasai.'

 

Snapping his head back up, he seriously contemplated on whether he should respond to that. This whole mystery of his `dreams' was something he had been trying to solve for some time. All his thoughts on this matter always lead to the same conclusion…it's impossible. Utterly impossible. Nothing that has happened to him could be possible. Yet, the fact that it was happening to him clearly indicated how very possible the impossible is proving to be.

 

`Now I'm not making any sense. Dammit, none of this makes any sense…none of this is normal.' Very irritated at himself, he clenched his hand in a fist and slammed it against the tree. Wincing at the impact, he soothed his sore knuckles. `Itai…that hurt.'

 

`Daijoubu?!'

 

“Yeah, fine and dandy for a lunatic,” remarked Kyo irately.

 

(Pause) `Gomen nasai. I never meant to frighten you. (Pause) Gomen nasai. I'll leave you alone.'

 

“No, wait,” whispered Kyo softly. He clearly felt how sad and dejected she just sounded then, and for the life of him, he just couldn't allow her to leave like that. Dream or no dream, fantasy or no fantasy, insanity or no, Tohru would always be Tohru to him. And nothing in this world or in any other realm in existence would ever make him be bitter or angry toward his one true friend.

 

“Don't leave. (Pause) I just don't understand you, that's all. I don't understand any of this. (Pause) Why? Just tell me why and how is this possible?” He stood silently on the branch, not daring to move or even breathe, lest the moment should pass him by, and he'd miss the answer to the questions that have been plaguing him for some time. It seemed like hours to him, waiting for an answer from her. He was sure for a brief moment that she did in fact leave him alone.

 

`It's strange that you ask me this after so long. Why is that?'

 

“Huh?” That response wasn't exactly what Kyo had in mind, but… “Well, I guess…I don't know. (Sighs heavily) I just…”

 

`…was afraid to ask?'

 

Her remark then actually brought to light a truth he hadn't known existed, yet if he thought about it long enough, such a truth was always there. He stared absently at the courtyard below him, giving more thought to her reply. A smile slowly crept to his lips. “Yeah, I guess so. Pretty pathetic, huh?”

 

(Pause) `No. (Pause) Question is why you'd be afraid to ask.'

 

Sliding back down to sit on the branch, Kyo pulled one knee up to his chest, laying his left arm across it. He stared blankly at his beaded bracelet, slowly twisting it around his wrist. He contemplated on that comment, and then truthfully replied. “I was afraid. (Pause) Afraid that you'd leave me if I confronted you about it. (Pause) I'd rather hold on to this delusion, or whatever this is, than risk losing you on any level.”

 

(Pause) `Hm, that's rather deep.'

 

Scoffing, he smiled wryly, “Yeah, well, hangin' with you can do that to anyone.”

 

(Pause) `So…does that mean that you like me here, too?'

 

“You know I do,” he remarked quietly as he closed his eyes. “I don't care which way you talk to me. Here in some fantasyland or down there in the `real world', it's all the same to me. You may not act like yourself at times, and I may be confused as hell, but you're still you. That's all that really matters to me.”

 

(Pause) `True, I am who I am. (Pause) I would never leave you for asking me a question on any matter that's troubling you. That's what friends are for, ne? (Pause) As for your original question, the real world-versus-fantasyland, well… First, I am truly so very sorry for causing you any grief over the matter. I never meant for you to doubt our friendship in any way…here or anywhere else. How frightening it must be to feel that a friendship that is so cherished can be lost. However, your fears are unfounded…our friendship will stand against the test of time. It will not be easily lost, that I assure you. (Pause) Secondly, the clarification you're looking for will soon become apparent to you in time.'

 

“And how `soon' is soon?” intervened Kyo.

 

(Laughs softly) `Soon as soon can be. For now, please understand and trust me on this. Remember, we're friends no matter the circumstances that surround us. If anything troubles you, you can always count on me here or wherever you find me.'

 

With a pout, he stood up, brushing the back of his pants. “Yeah, well…I guess that'll do for now. But this ain't normal.”

 

(Giggles) `Normal? Since when has life ever been normal for any of us?'

 

Thinking about it like that, he'd have to admit that this whole thing wasn't any stranger than him poofing into a cat or transforming into a hideous beast. `Normal' is everything the Sohmas aren't…and Tohru knew that better than anyone. Still, she stuck with them through all their abnormal living and accepted it all with open arms and understanding.

 

Looking out and spotting Tohru chatting with Uo and Hana, apparently done with the decorations, Kyo smiled softly. Her understanding is what got him through each and every day, and for that, he was very grateful. If she could extend that much to him, then who was he to not do the same for her when she asked of it.

 

(Sigh) “I understand,” remarked Kyo, knowing full well that she knew what he meant by that. He then jumped from one branch to another, finally landing at the base of the tree.

 

`Don't trip over the root.'

 

“What roo-…” replied Kyo as he met face first with the ground.

 

`That one.'

 

Sputtering dirt from his mouth, he pushed himself off the ground, glaring at the protruding root from the tree. It was then that he heard the sound of laughter from across the courtyard.

 

“Haha…our graceful Orange-top landed all right, but he sure can't walk!” cried out Uo with a grin.

 

“Kyo-kun, daijoubu?” asked Tohru worriedly as she rushed over to his side. “You didn't sprain your ankle?”

 

Blushing at her close proximity, he coughed out his nervousness and stammered, “Nah…I ju-just fell. Damn root was hiding.”

 

“Sure, go ahead, blame the poor tree,” remarked Uo with smirk.

 

“Damn Yankee…” bit out Kyo through clenched teeth when he felt a soft hand on his arm. He looked down to the concerned eyes of Tohru and immediately softened his expression.

 

“Kyo-kun, it's okay. Falling down can happen to anyone,” remarked Tohru smiling widely. “Just look at me…I really can't walk without tripping at least once along the way! So if you should ever fall down, I'll be right there to pick you back up, just like you do for me.”

 

`Friends…wherever I am.'

 

That last thought brought a smile to Kyo's face…a true smile. His fears and insecurities from earlier left him completely as he stood staring down at Tohru. Despite all odds against it, someone else besides his Shishou gave him the one thing he craved…a peace safe from all harm. Her untainted friendship with him, be it here or elsewhere, brought this peace to him.

 

A friendship and peace that he would fight for with his life, resolved not to lose them to anything or anyone.

 

A friendship that he was determined to make into something more.

 

Such commitment could easily be sensed by Hana. That plus something else…

 

`What just happened with Sohma Kyo? His aura is much altered than from before…how very unusual,' thought Hana with a trace of bewilderment in her eyes. She abruptly turned to Uo, “We must be heading back to my home soon. Getting ready for tonight will take much preparation.”

 

“Sure Hanajima. Oi, Tohru, dump anger management there and come on. (Kyo, `HEY!') Remember, you're coming with us to get dressed at Hanajima's place. Can't have any pervs trying to sneak a peek at ya, right?” remarked Uo with a sly grin. (Tohru blushes furiously, Kyo `I'm NOT a perv—that's Shigure!')

 

“Of course! We must hurry so we can help each other with our dresses and hair. Kagura-san is probably waiting for us by now at your home, Hana-chan. Oh my, where's Yuki-kun? I haven't seen him in a while,” replied Tohru apprehensively.

 

Uo spoke up, “Oi, Orangey, tell the Prince we're all off. (Kyo, `Yeah, whatever.') Hey, Tohru, it's great that the Prince's cousin is helping us out with our dresses and hair. Did you give her the right directions?”

 

“I provided the directions,” remarked Hana quietly.

 

“Um, I asked Hana-chan to give the directions to Kagura-san to her house. (Laughs nervously) I'm afraid I'm still not very good at giving directions,” remarked Tohru with a wide grin. Turning to Kyo, she replied, “Ano, Kyo-kun, will you please check on Yuki-kun, and let him know that we needed to leave. If he needs anymore help, please call me as soon as you can at Hana-chan's home. I'll rush right over.”

 

Seeing her helping with the decorations with curlers in her hair brought a very funny picture to Kyo's mind. `Hell, she'd do it, too, if the mouse called her up.' Coughing away the image, he replied, “Don't worry about it—I'll help out if there's anything else that needs to be done here. Just go on and get ready with the others. We'll see you tonight.”

 

“Arigatou, Kyo-kun,” smiled Tohru gratefully, waving him off while following the others.

 

Seeing her off, he now turned around to hunt down his cousin. `Where the hell did that mouse run off to? Probably hiding from the general female population of Kaibara High…'

 

`Hiding' could define Yuki's present location. He hadn't actually meant to hide out, but he did like the quiet solitude he had found earlier. So much in fact that he fell asleep. No one saw him there tucked away in a corner far away from all the activities…no one until Kakeru that is.

 

Kakeru was flying high and low what with all the work that Yuki had graciously dumped on him when Yuki pulled the disappearing act. Kakeru had work of his own…trying to turn Yuki's popularity into a profitable venture takes time and dedication, both of which Kakeru had plenty of, up `til recently that is.

 

`Yun-Yun, you owe me big. I need to collect on these bets, and today of all days you had to pull a Houdini,' whined Kakeru. Pouting, he turned to a different direction away from the crowds. It was then that he spotted the leg of one missing President. `Oh, my prodigal son has emerged!'

 

Rushing over, he was about to announce loud and clear his presence when he saw that Yuki was completely knocked out. Thinking better of it, Kakeru sat nearby and stared at his best friend. He saw just how much Yuki was worn out…again. It seemed that even in sleep Yuki was working very hard. There was always so much weight that Yuki carried on his shoulders. No matter how much of it was passed around, Yuki still carried the brunt of it.

 

Kakeru smiled softly at this. He knew that no matter how many responsibilities he carried or would carry in life, they all paled in comparison to those that Yuki carried with him. Admittedly, Kakeru only knew just the tip of the iceberg when it came to Yuki and his family, but what he did know gave him plenty to support the idea that it was no picnic, being a Sohma, especially with Yuki's position in the family (`whatever that may be').

 

Knowing that much, Kakeru knew how important Yuki's entrance exams and its results were to the family. True, these college entrance exams were always vital to any college bound kid, but Yuki was a Sohma with a position…failure was not in their vocabulary and the idea of anything below perfect was shunned just as any failure would be to the eyes of that family. He wondered if that was why Yuki had postponed taking the exams for a good while before finally taking them just before the theme park class trip. He always cited personal reasons, but Kakeru knew better.

 

Sighing, he closed his eyes as he thought of the fireworks that'd soon erupt within the Sohma Family due to this particular aspect in Yuki's school life. `Hell, I'd never get away with it, and this is ME! (Breathes out heavily.) I guess it can't be helped…Yun-Yun was pretty resolved with his decision.'

 

Shaking his head, Kakeru continued to stare at Yuki, who was starting to awaken. `Hm, he does look too kawaii for his own good.' With that thought, Kakeru took his cell phone with mini cam out and quickly took a shot of the `Sleeping Beauty'.

 

Groggily shaking himself from his nap, Yuki rubbed the sleep from his eyes. `Great, I fell asleep. What's been going on? I've got to…'

 

“Good morning, dear Yun-Yun!” bellowed Kakeru, scaring the living daylights out of Yuki. Yeah, Yuki acquainted Kakeru with his right foot, then sent him flying over to the ground. Kakeru could only see stars as he dizzily remarked, “I think Yun-Yun was surprised to see me.”

 

Sighing in frustration, Yuki bent over and helped his VP back up. “What are you doing here?”

 

Snapping himself out of it, Kakeru replied with a wide grin, “Just admiring the view. Oh, by the way, you owe me. Trying to keep your fans away plus doing your job is tough on my brain. I request immediate reprieve.”

 

Yuki was about to retort to that when he remembered his responsibilities currently. In a panic, he rushed around to get the clipboard that fell to the ground as he slept. “Perfect! What's been going on? Have the ushers started arriving? Did the broken dishes get replaced? Did…”

 

“Oi, Yun-Yun, calm down!” replied Kakeru as he shook Yuki back to reality. “Believe it or not, it's all coming along well. So just chill, okay?”

 

Seeing that Kakeru was for once the one with a sane mind while he was going berserk brought Yuki out of his panic mode. Sighing heavily, he leaned against the tree he was sleeping under and let his head and arms droop. “Gomen ne, I didn't mean to leave it all up to you. It must have been hard.”

 

“Yeah, well, I did have a pretty good teacher teachin' me the ropes for a while,” replied Kakeru as he glanced knowingly to Yuki. “You done good with getting most of it done. I just finished up whatever was left over, which wasn't much. Really.”

 

Wrapping his arms around him, Yuki looked up and tiredly smiled at Kakeru. As another thought struck his mind, he asked while looking around, “Where's Tohru-san and the others?”

 

“Lady fair went back with her friends to play dress up at her friend's place, so I overheard. You wanna take a peek?” asked Kakeru, knowing full well the consequences of voicing his thoughts honestly.

 

(SMACK!)

 

Once again meeting the ground up close and painfully, Kakeru twitched with signs of life as Yuki walked over him. Huffing in anger, Yuki walked off to see for himself if there was anything else that needed to be done. He actually needed to leave, too, since he still needed to get showered and dressed in time to pick up the girls. Yep, tonight was going to be a night to remember…

 

A memory to cherish always.

 

“Oi, Sohma!”

 

Yuki turned to see his homeroom teacher, Mayuko, rushing up to him. She had this look on her face that could only be interpreted as, well, worry.

 

“Sensei, is there something the matter with the decorations or anything else?” asked Yuki curiously.

 

“No, nothing like that,” replied Mayuko with an air of uncertainty. “Listen…um, can you come by tomorrow by my office? I know it's a bummer to have to come to school on a Sunday, but … you know why it has to be this way, right?”

 

Staring back at her, Yuki knew exactly why. `Well, I couldn't have expected her to jump for joy.' Letting out a soft sigh, he nodded, “Hai, I'll come over tomorrow afternoon.”

 

Smiling softly, she turned around to leave. She, too, needed to beautify herself for tonight's gathering—she was after all their official chaperone.

 

“So, the fireworks are starting up, huh?” questioned Kakeru from behind Yuki.

 

“Hai,” remarked Yuki without turning around.

 

“I'll go with you,” replied Kakeru.

 

Yuki spun around. “You don't…”

 

Clamping his hand over his mouth, Kakeru reiterated his earlier remark. “I'm coming.”

 

Seeing how resolute Kakeru was, Yuki couldn't help but softly smile at this. He really could never stop Kakeru from doing what he wanted. Nodding to him, Yuki walked off and was once again stopped by someone else's voice. A very loud one at that…

 

“Oi, nezumi! Where the hell have you been?! We're running late thanks to your vanishing act. Let's go!” called out Kyo from across the courtyard.

 

“Go ahead, Yun-Yun. Everything here is pretty good to go, really. Be off and make me proud,” remarked Kakeru with a wide smile while shooing Yuki away.

 

“Demo…” started Yuki protesting.

 

“No buts! Go!” replied Kakeru with one final push to his President. “Tonight's going to be your night…I can feel it.”

 

Yuki could only hope that somehow that would be true…

 

 

~*~

 

Edited by: Seiren-no-Kaze 02-23-07

 

~*~

 

 

Author's Demented Remarks (01-20-05):

 

Konnichiwa! Hope everyone is in good health what with winter being a pain for many! I had really wanted to post the next chapter to this event, however, sudden developments with my storyline came up, and of course, they had to be addressed sooner than later. Many of these developments were actually pointed out in some way in this chapter, hence why some of the info you came across here may have seemed out of place. I'm not going to really point them out to you since there really isn't any reason to do so as of yet. These developments will need a stronger foundation for what's coming up after the next chapter, so…I'm adjusting some past chapters to better support these developments. I'll be more specific on this matter in the next chapter's commentary section and under the usual headline section in my bio page. By then, I can provide better details as to what to look for in the adjustments as well as which past chapters were affected. Don't worry though…these adjustments will be small and will not require that you read the entire chapter. Please extend your patience with me on this…thanks!

 

Special thanks to Rjunkie for her help in catching a lot of honorific issues in earlier chapters (still cleaning them up). And a special thanks to Ina-chan for her valuable support and ideas on how to bring these new developments to light!

 

Now, with this chapter, we see a bit of Kyo's thoughts on these `dream' sequences he's been having. I'm sure you're just as confused as Kyo is on this matter, but like Kyo mentioned, just accept it just as it is. I had hoped to convey this suggestion through Kyo, and it's my hope that it'll be less of a headache for my readers. Here's hopin'!

 

My dear Yuki has so much to worry about…females crawling all over the place just to even catch a scent of him! Kakeru sure can perform the job of a `pimp' pretty well, ne? Well, the next chapter should satiate many Yukiru lovers out there…just be patient a little while longer!

 

Now, a word to my reviewers out there:

 

Alcapacien: Hey there! Glad you liked my mask bit with Yuki. That poor mask met an inevitable demise in the incinerator. Sewer rat accurately described the poor thing. My brother once told me that he actually saw one of those suckers by the creek at our old house. Eww, the rat was HUGE, like a full-grown cat! It even had hair running the length of it's tail. Yuck!

 

S.B. Kisses: What is Shigure up to? Hm, let me peek into his mind…hehehe! It'll come around sooner than you think!

 

Deathscribe (anonymous): Wow, such an intricate review! So many questions…I wished you could have left your email so that I could discuss it in detail with you.

 

Let's see, first off this fic is based on the anime (after series), manga (English release and Japanese released versions), and my own twisted turn of events. For more details, check my rather long bio page, which is actually just a place where I store pertinent info about this fic. I do recommend you catch up with the anime and manga in order to understand my fic better, although it's not really necessary. Kyo is just a part of the whole Sohma curse, so my fic centers on him as well.

 

Rin and Kureno are characters in the manga that someday will be released over here in the good ol' US. Until then, I've resorted to reading translations of the Japanese released manga. I based the essence of these two characters on the manga, so as far as personality goes, my fic is close to the real thing found in the manga (at least, that's what I'm praying for). Any `embellishments' on my part for these two characters will usually be notated in the commentary section of each chapter, just in case you're interested to learn more about them. You can also check in the review section under Rjunkie's or Ina-chan's reviews. These two gals are the best Furuba resources I've ever met, and I'm so glad to have them as pals! They really helped me with making my fic seem more `authentic' and true to the manga. Now back to Rin—yeah, she's beggin' for a big smack…hey, wait. I already did that! Hehehehe, I'm bad! There's more than meets the eye when it comes to Rin…stay tuned!

 

Dear Yuki…you wonder why I love this character so much. Beautiful describes him so well, yet it still falls short. And not just physically…like you said, his inner character is exquisite and poignant (I even had Kazuma point this out on purpose in earlier chapters). I can relate so much more with his character than any of the other characters in Furuba. Keeping him and the others `human' is very important to me and to this fic. I believe Takaya-sensei also strives to do the same in her own way. Yuki's character of how he looks at life and how he manages to move forward despite the scars he carries in his heart is actually a critical point in my fic. I have my personal reasons to bring this to light…like I said, I could relate very well to Yuki's situation in life. I think many feel the same way, too.

 

As far as what's up between Akito and Shigure in my fic…well, stay tuned! That's a storyline that I'm developing from here, not related to current storylines in the manga or anime. But if you have specific questions, email me at the address under my profile. I have no qualms with explaining certain parts of the anime or manga—at least, I'll try my best to explain. Just keep in mind that I can't reveal the secrets to my fic…they're under lock and key!

 

Thanks so much for this review! I hope you'll continue to hang in there with me throughout the development of this fic!

 

Rjunkie: 5000 word essay sounds like a piece of cake compared to what I have to do with my current storyline. Hope the `dream' sequences are becoming a little clearer for you, at least in the sense that it's not a good idea to bash your head over it. Kyo is not going to bother with it anymore…I recommend the same for my readers!

 

Yuki can't ever follow anything related to craft works…sad but true fact. (H'kat hugs Yuki doll in consolation.)

 

Shigure will definitely be planning something for our dear Yuki…and yes, I am evil. Stay away…far away.

 

Honorific correction noted and made! Thank you!!!! TTFN!

 

To the anonymous reviewer called “Kate” that left a review one sentence long and somehow is reading this…all other readers and/or reviewers, please skip this section: You may have noted that the review is no longer there. Why you ask? Because the maturity level of that remark was below that of my 3 year old niece. I'm old and wise in some aspects, and reading a remark that lacked any sense of an adult or pre-adult just really wastes good space on the review board. If you're actually reading this, then I recommend that in the future you respect the insanity called `my fic' and other fics by other authors that use Akito in the female gender. I extend this same courtesy when coming across fics with Akito in the male gender sense. If you just have to have Akito in the male gender, then so be it…it's your little world and you can have anything you want there. But once you step out into my world or anyone else's, just do me a big huge favor and back the hell off `my' characters (I'm only borrowing them for now—they're currently owned in all legal sense by Takaya-sensei). They are all wonderful characters, female-Akito included, and I'm not one to stand idly by and have some weirdo demean them in any way. Critiquing is okay…insulting them is not. Still reading this? Then next time, step up and leave an email address so I can relate my `concerns' with your remarks directly instead of posting them here in public.

 

Now back to your regular commentary…

 

Whew! This section was longer than usual! A word to my reviewers and readers…THANKS! Thanks so much for sticking with me through sane and insane moments. I really didn't want to comment on that one bad remark from a so-called reviewer, but alas, the individual didn't leave an email address so that I can respond to her remark directly. No shock there I suppose…I guess I'm too scary. Reading my response to her remark, I guess she's right to be scared! I'm so bad…I'm terrible, really! Oh well, I plan on taking my response down in about a week…that person vented in public, so it's my right to return the favor!

 

Anyway, read and read and read some more my beloved readers! Thank you for all your support by reading and reviewing…they truly are the highlights of my day! Ja ne!