(A/N): So today in my beginner's Japanese Class, we learnt about Girl's Day, which happens to be today. For some reason, it got me thinking about Fruits Basket, and I was desperate to write a story about Tohru, Kyo and Yuki- even though it's been ages since I've been able to write a fic completely in a day (I couldn't wait till next year - and it would be useless if late). I'm still on the fence about who I ship Tohru with though...^^""

Anyway, we learnt that on Girl's Day, also known as the Doll Festival, Hina Dolls are on display in rows, starting with the Emperor and Empress on the highest tier, and going down. I know the second tier is three woman, but we didn't go into much detail. It's always something to research though! Girl's are meant to go to each other's houses and eat pink rice cakes and see each other's dolls. It's said that the dolls take away bad spirits and, if they're not put away quickly, prevent girl's getting married.

However, I'm not an expert in this, and I apologise if I've gotten anything wrong! o0o""""

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.


Kyo Sohma's mind was anywhere but the T.V. He had the feeling that he had homework, even thoughhe knew he hadn't, he felt that he should be doing school work. But he knew if he did, his mind would just wander to Tohru. Which annoyed him to no end. He didn't get why he kept thinking about her, about the little laughs and noises she made to herself, of all the little smiles she had for everything - how did she have so many smiles? Why did Kyo remember what smile she had for everything? Why did he want to unpin the ribbon from her hair, let it fall, and just touch her hair? Why did he desperately, longingly want to know what it was like to hug her without transforming?

"Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" Shigure's sing-song voice suddenly broke Kyo's reverie, even though his voice was barely audible over the sounds of cartoons on the television.

"It's not your birthday, is it?" Kyo grumbled, half-relieved for the distraction from the merry-go-round feelings in his stomach as he turned from the T.V set.

"It's the third of March." Yuki spoke dismissively, almost over the top of him.

Kyo glared to shoot daggers, mostly on the principle of the whole thing, which Yuki coolly returned.

"And what festival is on the third of March?" Shigure pressed, smirking.

There was a beat of silence in the room in which Kyo panic. Was it some kind of Zodiac thing? Was it something really important?

"Hinamatsuri." He blurted out as soon as it came to him, then he raised an eyebrow. "Why? It's a girls festival."

"Oh, I just thought, what with Tohru in the house and all, that you'd be putting up dolls just about now." Shigure still had that annoying voice on. The slightly nagging, 'I know best voice' that Kyo hated. (Actually, he hated most of Shigure's voices, but that wasn't the point.)

He hated even more that panic had started to rear it's head in his gut, and his eyes darted, surprisingly, to Yuki. The other boy looked just as blank and panicked. Should they have done something for Tohru?

They almost jumped as the screen door opened. As if summoned merely by name, Tohru was standing there, dutifully holding a tray of tea. Kyo used to hate that too. She lived here - she wasn't a maid. She didn't have to act like it all the time.

But then he had realised, that it made her happy. Strangely, acting like a total housewife, brought Tohru never-ending amounts of joy. Her smile was always especially bright when they were eating a meal that she'd made. In fact, Kyo had started to thank her quietly in the kitchen, just to see her dazzling beam.

"I thought we all could use some hot drinks, what with it being so cold out." Tohru stammered now. It was like she was making an excuse to move around the house.

"Oh, Tohru - you're always so thoughtful! What would we do without you?" Shigure, as always, made as big a fuss of Tohru as he could. Half the time he sounded like a doting father, the other half of the time he sounded like a pervert. This time, however, Kyo noted his pointed glance at them as he spoke. He knew Shigure wanted them to say something, so, on principle, sulked and kept his mouth shut.

As Tohru was pouring the tea and Yuki took was cradling his cup in both hands, he decided to ask, rather hesitantly;

"Miss Honda, what were you planning on doing tomorrow?"

Tohru blinked at Yuki, and Kyo found himself forced to look away. Those eyes. He had never been able to determine whether her irises were green or blue. They seemed to sparkle and change like the sea, every time he got the courage to look into them, the had altered so much that he found them dazzling every time.

"Oh, of course. Tomorrow's Hinamatsuri, isn't it?" she suddenly realised. Kyo glanced up to see the small smile forming on her mouth. She could have been amused at herself forgetting, at his question - at anything really. She always seemed to be smiling. "Well, I suppose Hana will ask me and Uo round, since she's got the most empty space. Oh, but, is that okay?"

She turned to Shigure, her eyes wide.

"Of course," he smiled at her, looking rather bemused. "You could even stay there if you like, since we have no decorations up."

Once again, Shigure's dark eyes flickered between Yuki and Kyo. Yuki tried to catch his eye again, Kyo made sure to look away, even though he was desperate to try Tohru's tea.

"Oh no, I'll have to come home," Tohru insisted. "Otherwise, who'll make dinner? I wouldn't want you all to miss out!"

Kyo couldn't help raising an eyebrow at her, which, he was almost flustered to note, brought colour to her cheeks.

"It's your decision," Shigure continued, rather resignedly. "Just let me know tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure!" Tohru nodded, but Kyo knew she'd already made her decision. No doubt they'd all be eating pink riceballs tomorrow.

The two of them made eye contact over the table for a long moment. Tohru's eyes dropped to the table first, but Kyo's remained stuck on the way her brown lashes looked in the yellow light.

"Oh, Kyo, you haven't drunk any tea. Were you not thirsty - I'm sorry - I should have asked-" she started to panic, red flushing to her cheeks.

Out of both corners of his eyes, he could see Shigure and Yuki smirking at him. At least, it looked like they were smirking at him.

"It's fine!" he snapped angrily, immediately taking a swig from the cup in front of him. It was still burning hot and he knew he wouldn't be able to taste anything for a week because of it - but whatever made her happy. "Thank you - it's great."

Again, Tohru blinked at him for a moment, as though her brain was playing catch-up with what she was seeing. Then she burst into a smile so wide her eyes were practically closed.

"Good!" she exclaimed, and Kyo had to look away again, heat rising to his cheeks. He felt like the awkwardest person in the world.

Why wasn't he good at just telling her how he felt?


The next day, Kyo was awake in moments, and doing something he never thought he'd do. Tip-toeing to Yuki's bedroom.

He knew it was risky, and that he'd be thrown out of the window in 0.2 seconds if he was not careful. But the night before, as he lay in bed, he had come to a conclusion. He had to buy a Goddamn doll set for Tohru. There seemed to be only one person who would know anything about these things, and that was Yuki. As insufferable as it was to ask for help from the rat, it was his only option.

Kyo slid open the door to Yuki's room a centimetre, his ears on red alert for any signs of movement. He took it back another centimetre. And another. The silence was almost as deathly as if he heard footsteps.

"What are you doing out here, you stupid cat?" a sudden voice snapped from inside. The door was yanked from Kyo's hand and he was face to face with a grumpy, bed-headed Yuki.

"Nothing, you damn rat!" Kyo snapped back purely out of surprise. His heart had leapt into his throat, and he was determined not to let Yuki see he was rattled. Then his brain caught up with him and he cleared his throat. "Actually, I was thinking about Hinamatsuri...and, I, well do you know where we could find a doll's set?"

He could barely look at the dark haired boy. He felt like he was on fire - like his face was the same colour as his hair.

"We?" Yuki repeated. Kyo could practically hear the raised eyebrow. "When did we become a 'we'?"

"Fine, if you don't wanna help-" Kyo said it quickly, starting down the corridor. Any excuse to be away. Yuki, however, caught his upper arm. As much as Kyo would have liked a fight, it was still unclear how awake Yuki was, so he stayed still. (Cats don't always land on their feet - especially when thrown out of windows.)

"I didn't say that," Yuki said behind him. "Okay, I'll help you - happy?"

"No," Kyo grumbled, yanking his arm away. "But we have to, don't we?"

Yuki's only response was a nod.


"Oy! You should be respecting me - it's girl's day!"

"That doesn't mean a damn thing!"

Tohru sighed as Uo and Kyo argued across her in homeroom. It wasn't an exasperated, or annoyed sigh, rather, it was an amused sigh. Some things never changed. And most things, she didn't want to.

"If you're not nice to girls, then no one will marry you!" Uo retorted now, her cheeks red from yelling so much.

"Maybe I don't want to get married to a dumb girl!" Kyo shouted back. Then he seemed to realise something, and his face seemed to go red from his throat. He recoiled and slumped back at his desk, glowering at Uo.

Tohru didn't see Uo raise an eyebrow and look between the two, she was too busy staring at Kyo. She was concerned that he never wanted to settle down, Kyo seemed like the kind of person who did need someone to be with. She also supposed that it was hard for Zodiac members to marry and have a long lasting relationship with someone, unless that person was also in the zodiac.

Unfortunately, Kyo noticed her staring.

"Don't you have somewhere to be!" he spat, looking more catlike than ever.

"C'mon Tohru, let's leave him to cool off." Uo added, tugging at Tohru's wrist to get her going. Hana took her other wrist, so the two were leading her from the classroom.

"See you when I get home, Kyo." Tohru murmured over her shoulder.

She tried to forget Kyo as they headed over to Uo's apartment, clearly making an effort to make her laugh. But she couldn't help it, she worried about both Kyo and Yuki when she left them. They could get into a fight, or all sorts of trouble that she couldn't even imagine.

Of course, she wasn't sure how she could help if they did get into trouble and she was there.

So, she tried to put them, and the Zodiac, at the back of her mind, and enjoy her time with her friends.

When they made it to Uo's house, it felt like things were back to normal. She wondered, if she spent long enough with these two, that she'd forget her mother's death and pretend everything was as it was a year ago.

"Oh, Uo - it's so cute!" Tohru couldn't help but exclaim when she saw Uo's Hina Dolls, laid out on one side of the apartment.

"I feel like you would say that about anything," Uo chuckled, but she was smiling. "Now where were those rice cakes you promised us?"

"Yes, let's start this party." Hana added, already making her way to Uo's cushions and sitting down.

Tohru laughed, slipping off her shoes also, before joining the two. She opened her bag and pulled out the bento box she had filled that morning.

"Actually, they came out a little differently than I expected." She said, almost apologetically, as she popped the lid off. The pink rice cakes inside looked decidedly more ball shaped than they were supposed to.

Uo and Hana just laughed, though.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," Hana commented as she tucked into one.

"Hey, it makes for easier eating, doesn't it?" Uo joked, elbowing Tohru friendily as she took her own.

Tohru followed suit. She used to never be able to taste her own cooking, but as she did it more and more, she found that she was enjoying it more. She could really taste it. And, most of the time, it was good. It made her proud to make something people genuinely enjoyed.

"So, Tohru, I assume you have your own Hina dolls on display?" Hana asked, already reaching for another rice cake.

"Oh, no, actually," Tohru smiled and tried to laugh it off, but she knew they'd be shocked. "I don't think Shigure has any."

"What?!" Uo slammed her hand down on the table, just like Tohru knew she would. "Hell, don't they do anything for you?!"


Kyo couldn't believe the things he did for Tohru. He and Yuki had trawled around everyshop as soon as school had ended, but nowhere was selling any Hina dolls. Not even the small ones. Every where had said that the two should have come earlier.

"What are we going to do now?" Kyo grumbled as the two started home, their spirits downtrodden.

"I don't know!" Yuki sighed, exasperated. "Why don't you come up with some ideas?"

Kyo allowed himself to pout for a while. The two trudged along.

"...Why don't we make one?" he finally asked.


"I still can't believe you don't have any Hina dolls out." Uo repeated as she said goodbye to Tohru. "What about evil spirits?"

"Oh, well I've been to your house, and I'll stop off at a temple tomorrow if you're really worried." Tohru said. It was weird for Uo of all people to be nervous about such a thing.

"And poor Tohru might not ever get married." Hana hugged Tohru goodbye, her hair tickling her like a ghost.

"If anything, doesn't that mean she will?" Uo asked.

"Oh no!" Hana exclaimed. "Tohru, you can't!"

"I should be getting back," she laughed. "Bye!"


Tohru had called that she was home half an hour ago, and Kyo was starting to get worried about when exactly she was going to come through.

He and Yuki's hands were both bright red and sore from sewing scraps of fabric together in an attempt to make the Hina dolls for Tohru. Attempt being the operative word.

"Your's look like pigs," Yuki commented, trying once more to get one to sit right.

"Shut up!" Kyo retorted, even if it was sort of true. "Yours aren't much better!"

"Dinners ready!" Tohru's voice called.

"No!" to Kyo's annoyance, Yuki totally copied him by saying the same thing.

"Coming, Tohru!" Shigure called, dutifully moving to the door. He had been sat in the corner, stifling his giggles at the two's attempts.

All too soon, Tohru was coming in with dinner. She looked at Kyo and Yuki's faces of outrage in complete confusion as she placed it on the table.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Kyo looked at Yuki, waiting for him to cast his charming spell and make everything decent. When it didn't happen, he pointed at the homemade Hina dolls wordlessly. Even Yuki looked a little embarrassed.

Tohru turned wordlessly to the Hina dolls, then gasped as she realised what they were and ran over to them. She stared at them, her back to the boys, for an immeasurable amount of time. Kyo's heart had never beat so loudly.

Then her shoulders started to shake and he thought his heart had stopped beating full-stop.

"Miss Honda, what's wrong?" Yuki exclaimed, running to her side.

Kyo followed, mainly to through the credit all on Yuki and feign ignorance.

To his dismay, Tohru was wiping away fat tears with the heel of her palm.

"It's just -" she gulped. "That's so sweet of you both! No one's ever done anything like this for me!"

Tohru looked from Yuki to Kyo, tears still falling heavily from her eyes.

"Thank you so much!" she was crying so hard that it came out as a whispered gulp.

Kyo could barely react before one of her arms was tight around his neck, pulling him to her. Suddenly she was hugging them both so tightly to her, that they were all practically cheek to cheek.

Reluctantly, Kyo put his arm back around her, thinking to things. The first thing was that he was totally going to steal all the credit for this idea. And the second was that he was going to put the Hina Dolls away as soon as he had to.

Because, maybe, there was one girl that he might marry.

One day.

*:・゚✧~Fin~*:・゚✧