Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Pain of Love ❯ Chapter 13

Sorry for the long wait, but I had the worst case of writer's block I've ever had, and I was reluctant to continue posting until it had passed. Thankfully, it has, and here is the next chapter.

Disclaimer: No, still not mine. Like I'll ever own Fruits Basket.

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The story so far (since it's been a while): After seeing Tohru and Yuki kissing in the woods, Kyo runs off, with Tohru following. Tohru meets Akito, and is beaten for "stealing" Yuki. Kyo, assuming that Yuki and Tohru are an item and mistakenly thinking they had a fight, vows to help the "happy couple" and stay out of the way, despite his feelings for Tohru. immediately after returning home, Kyo went over to the main house and then to Kazuma's, in an attempt to move out of Shigure's so that he could keep his promise and not interfere in Tohru and Yuki's relationship.

Momiji and Haru, among others, seem to believe there is something going on that isn't readily visible, and they also believe Tohru clearly has feelings for Kyo, rather than Yuki.

Tohru, for her part, has yet to come to terms with her feelings for either boy, while Yuki is becoming increasingly confident that Tohru's feelings are directed at him, rather than Kyo.

 

Chapter 13

 

“So my lovely monster wants to move,” Akito said, gazing fondly at the small bird perched on his finger. His voice had an iciness to it that told Kazuma that the god had already made a decision about Kyo's living situation.

 

“That is correct, Akito. He no longer wishes to live with Shigure-kun,” Kazuma replied respectfully. `Please let him move. He'll die if you make him stay there.'

 

“I suppose it is natural to wish to leave a place if the one you love cares for another. Seeing that whore everyday with my precious Yuki must hurt. If it were only that, then perhaps I would be nice, and let my monster move. But I, too, have been hurt by this. Yuki does not love me if he loves that girl. I want my Yuki back. That girl will pay for stealing him from me. Perhaps Kyo can help me in this. If he stays there, then surely he will interfere. He cannot help it. His anger will get the best of him, and he will intervene in their relationship. What more could I ask for? Besides, the monster must pay for lying to me. He said he hated her.”

 

The bird flew away; Akito turned his head so he was staring Kazuma in the face. “And if I find out that Kyo is living with you against my will, I will personally come and collect him early.”

 

Kazuma bit back a sigh and nodded in understanding. As he stood to leave, he wondered how Kyo would take the news.

 

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“There, perfect,” Yuki commented as he lit the last candle. Shigure was occupied at the main house for the evening, and Kyo was sulking in his room. Yuki was taking the opportunity to prepare a special meal for Tohru when she came home from work. Now, if he could just find that recipe…

 

“Hello! I'm home! Yuki-kun, where are you?” Tohru called out as she entered the house. She gasped as she saw the candles sitting on the table that was set for two. “Yuki-kun, what is this?” she asked as he emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron.

 

“Just something I thought you might enjoy. You deserve it after all. You do so much for us; it's time we returned the favor,” he replied with a smile.

 

“Thank you! But where is Kyo-kun going to sit? The table is only set for two.”

 

“He ate earlier and went to bed. I think he said something about not feeling well,” Yuki inwardly winced at the lie. Kyo had said nothing of the kind, nor had he eaten. In fact, the rat hadn't even seen the cat that day. Kyo had been hiding in his room since he'd come back from wherever he'd gone after they'd returned from the trip.

 

“Oh, well, in that case, I really appreciate it, Yuki-kun. Thank you!” Tohru said brightly.

 

Yuki smiled and returned to the kitchen to finish preparing the food.

 

Some time later, Tohru was starting to become worried about the rat in the kitchen. She'd seen smoke come billowing out soon after she'd come home, and would have rushed in to help Yuki if he hadn't adamantly told her to stay where she was and that he was fine. Since then, the rather loud cursing and clattering coming from the direction of the kitchen had done nothing to put her at ease. She'd heard stories from Shigure about Yuki's talents in the kitchen, and they weren't pretty.

 

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Yuki emerged from the kitchen with smudge marks on his face from something burnt and assorted sauces spilled on the apron. In his hands were two dishes, and as he placed one in front of Tohru, she nearly had to stop herself from gagging. On the plate was something burnt beyond recognition and covered in some sauce that smelled strong enough to wake someone from a coma.

 

Removing his apron and tossing it back into the kitchen, the half-open door temporarily gave Tohru a view of the disaster that used to be called a kitchen. Her eyes widened in fear at the thought of cleaning that up later, but she managed to control her expression when she turned again to face Yuki. Plastering a smile on her face, she cautiously took a bite of whatever it was on her plate.

 

Yuki looked on, anxious to see her reaction. He'd given her the less burnt piece, in the hope that it would taste a little better. He knew he was no wonder if the kitchen, but he'd tried this time, really tried. If only the recipe hadn't caught fire with the food, things might have turned out a little better.

 

Tohru's eyes watered as she struggled to swallow the bitter, spicy charcoal sitting in front of her. Seeing Yuki waiting for her reaction, she managed a smile and said, “Very good, Yuki-kun. Thank you.” She hated lying outright, but there was no way she could crush him by telling him the truth, that it was the worst meal she'd ever tasted. As she reluctantly took another bite and gagged it down, Tohru found herself wishing Kyo had cooked her “thank you” meal instead. His cooking was far from perfect, but the soup he'd made her when she was sick had been not only edible, but really quite good.

 

Yuki knew that Tohru was lying the second he put a bite of the food into his mouth. His eyes watered as the strong conflicting tastes wrecked havoc on his taste buds. This was terrible. Even if her piece was a little better, there was no possible way it qualified as “very good.” Even so, he swallowed his food like a man, and settled down to finishing every bite.

 

Tohru finally finished her piece of whatever it was, and realized that it had grown rather late. Between the excessive amount of time Yuki had spent “cooking” and the amount of time necessary between bites to prevent oneself from dying of sensory overload, several hours had passed since she'd returned home. The candles Yuki had lit were burning low, and Tohru recalled that she still had homework to do. After thanking Yuki again, she began clearing the table, only to have Yuki stop her and insist that he do it himself.

 

She handed him the plates, relieved that she wasn't going to have to do the brunt of the cleaning. No doubt she'd have to go in later and finish, but if Yuki could clean even half that mess, then it would save her hours of work. Sitting down at the table in the living room, Tohru did her homework to the tune of breaking plates and Yuki cursing at the stove. She had to giggle a little at that. Yuki was normally very mild mannered, and to hear him cursing more than Kyo was unusual to say the least.

 

From his room, Kyo could hear the racket downstairs. He smiled to himself at all the noise the rat was making, but when he heard Tohru's laugh his heart dropped to his feet. He'd done it; he'd succeeded. She was happy, and she was with Yuki. Kyo was no longer a necessary part of her life, if he ever had been. He'd managed to stick to his promise not to interfere with them, and his goal, her happiness, had been accomplished. Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't eaten since breakfast or maybe it was something else, but he suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to block out the noise from the first floor. Unable to do so, he silently made his way to the roof. Tears softly fell from his eyes, and he hugged himself to chase away the loneliness.

 

Physics was far from her best subject, but with all of Yuki's tutoring over the past several months, it was finally starting to come to her. His trick was to use real life examples whenever he could, so that she would have an easy reference guide wherever she looked. His favorite examples usually involved Kyo flying hundreds of feet at speeds that would have killed anyone else.

 

Since Yuki was busy cleaning, she relied on those examples to help her through the homework. Finally coming to the last problem, she bit her lip in frustration. She was never good at these ones, despite the abundance of examples Yuki and Kyo provided her with during their fights.

 

Whispering to herself, she worked through it, “Ok, first make Kyo-kun the ball, and then imagine Yuki kicking him through the door again. No, not through the door. Out in a field, where nothing would get in the way. If he traveled at thirty meters per second at an angle of twenty degrees, how far would he go? Um…” Struggling to imagine the scenario in her head, she squeezed her eyes closed, blocking out Yuki's noise in the kitchen. Suddenly, the scene played itself out perfectly in her mind, exactly as the problem dictated. Her dream from vacation flooded her mind, and she gasped in surprise.

 

Closing her eyes a second time, the scene replayed until she opened her eyes in fear. Why couldn't she forget that dream? Why was the only thing going through her mind the image of Yuki sending Kyo flying away? She needed to focus on physics, not dreams. Trying once more to imagine it as a physics problem, she soon became lost in memories of Kyo flying through walls. Before she realized it, she was fast asleep on top of her books, the last problem unfinished.

 

Exiting the kitchen, Yuki saw Tohru passed out, homework scattered. He chuckled to himself at how dedicated she was to her schoolwork and gently picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room. He tucked her in and made his way to his room. As he drifted off to sleep, the only things on his mind were images of Tohru sleeping and how she was now his.

 

Waking up shivering in the cool night air, Kyo felt his stomach growl. `Damn it. Aw hell, I might as well go and get myself something to eat.'

 

When he entered the kitchen, he immediately understood why the rat had been cursing so much. It was still a disaster area. Sighing at Yuki's incompetence at housecleaning, he set about finishing the job properly. When it was done, he made himself a few rice balls as “dinner” and entered the living room to eat.

 

This room was also a mess, as Tohru's homework was still scattered. He noticed the physics she'd fallen asleep on and smiled sadly to himself. Grabbing her pencil, he quickly worked through the last problem, remembering countless times he'd been a shining example of the ball from the exercise. Tucking the papers into her bag, he finished eating and went to bed himself.