Summary: Her absence just fueled his appreciation for her, her sweet intentions just fueled his friendship with her, and her love fueled his love for her. KxK

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Fruits. Basket.

Take Me Away: Songfic
I cannot find a way to describe it,

It's there inside; all I do is hide,

I wish that it would just go away,

What would you do if you knew?

What would you do?

It's been a few months since Kagura stopped visiting Kyo at Shigure's house and several weeks since she decided never to see him again.

"Kyo-kun…"

Kyo turned to the source of the voice, it was Tohru. She smiled sheepishly up at him as she proceeded to sit next to him on the rooftop.

"What do you want?"

"I'm sorry for disrupting your peace, but I just had to know something." Tohru looked down at her hands in her lap, feeling rather unsure of herself. "I wanted to know how you felt about me."

Kyo blinked at her, confusion written plainly on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Kyo-kun, I felt terrible when Yuki and I told you about our relationship… and I just wanted to know if you, well, if you hated me now."

Kyo turned away from her, why did she have to bring this up now? The pain he had experienced when Yuki and Tohru finally confessed their love to each other was so unbearable that he thought he'd never be able to feel anything else again. Tohru's innocent eyes staring up at him and Shigure when her mouth opened and closed, stuttering every word Kyo never wanted to hear.

"Yuki and I are in love."

Kyo had always known that they would eventually get together, but he hadn't expected it so soon. The two were both very shy and so he expected them to get together after high school or much later. He never expected them to start dating two weeks after Tohru's encounter with Akito.

He always thought it would be the three of them till he was old enough to leave everything. He always thought Tohru would deny any affectionate feeling towards Yuki, he always thought that they'd never break his heart the way they did.

That was two months ago and the pain was still there. It wasn't as heartrending as it had been a while back, but it was still there.

His time before Tohru's confession was spent thinking about her and how he'd one day confess, hopefully before Yuki. Since he can no longer win Tohru over, his thoughts shifted over to Kagura. Slowly, but surely he began wondering what she was doing or what she was thinking. He slowly began recounting small encounters which he actually enjoyed, small moments when she didn't got insane.

All the pain I thought I knew,

All my thoughts lead back to you,

Back to what was never said,

Back and forth inside my head,

I can't handle this confusion,

I'm unable; come and take me away.

All his thoughts were soon occupied with Kagura. Her reluctance to visit him only served to heighten his curiosity and her acceptance of his rejection made him worry about her. She was a person who said she'd always be there for him, but where was she now?

"Kyo-kun…"

Suddenly, Kyo didn't want Tohru to be up there on the roof with him, he wanted Kagura. Suddenly, the pain Tohru inflicted on him was nothing to the anger he felt towards Kagura. He wanted to tell her everything he felt, everything she did to him. He wanted to yell at her, to scream at her.

He wanted to blame her for losing Tohru, he wanted to blame her for everything.

Another part of him, however, didn't want to shout at her. This part wanted to ask her things, to question her about the truth in her confessions of love. He wanted to know if anything she had ever said was true.

For all he knew, it could have all been a lie and she was currently dating someone other than him.

"Kyo-kun…"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

Her apology fell on deaf ears as Kyo started thinking of Kagura once more. Why didn't she want to see him? Kyo has told her many times that he hated her in the past and that he never wanted to see her, but it never stopped her before. How was this time so different?

"Tohru, I don't care anymore. Can you just drop it?"

Tohru's eyes widened with a tint of sadness within them, but nevertheless she nodded and climbed down the ladder leaving Kyo all alone again. He never meant to be so harsh, but he needed some privacy to sort out his feelings.

Kyo started recounting the little things Kagura tried to do for him, which only resulted in him yelling at her. He remembered the chocolate heart, the small hugs and butterfly kisses, the trinkets she gave him, the lunches she cooked, everything. Their past filtering through his mind like a movie on fast forward with only bits and pieces appealing to him.

Still, the question remained. What was so different this time? How did he finally drive her away?

He remembered telling her every time he saw her that he didn't want anything to do with her. He remembered telling her that he could never love her, but why was she gone now? Suddenly, he felt lost without her near him, without her 'keeping him in line.' He suddenly felt incomplete without something to run from. He suddenly felt incomplete without someone to keep telling him the things he wanted to hear. Everything seemed so confusing, everything seemed so incomplete. Kyo wasn't so sure of his own feelings anymore, he wasn't so sure if he really meant everything he always told her.

Kyo looked at the night's sky and with a small sigh he climbed down the ladder and entered the house, planning to sort his feelings some other day.

I feel like I am all alone,

All by myself I need to get around this,

My words are cold, I don't want them to hurt you,

If I show you, I don't think you'd understand,

Cause no one understands.

It has been three days since Tohru's confrontation of Kyo on the roof and it has been three days straight since Kyo could think of nothing else besides Kagura. Whenever he thought of her, Kyo felt angry. He felt so frustrated when he thought of her and everything she had done in the past. Where was she now when he needed her the most?

Shigure had finally talked the whole house into going Christmas shopping together and they were currently getting ready to leave. Tohru entered the room with Yuki blushingly holding her hand.

"Hi, Kyo-kun! Good morning!" She chirped happily.

Although Tohru was the most reliable person to talk to, Kyo just couldn't talk to her. She had triggered the confusion growing inside him when he wasn't as depressed about her relationship with Yuki as he thought he'd be. She started it when he could no longer think about her. The confusion started with Tohru and ended with Kagura.

Did his words finally click in Kagura's mind? Did she hate him now because of that? Why did she have to be gone now? Kyo needed someone to talk to, someone to comfort him, but Kagura wasn't there and Tohru could no longer fill the emptiness inside him.

The four members of the household started walking towards the candy shop, Shigure's choice of course. Kyo walked down the aisles all alone, looking at each product as he passed them by. What would Kagura want? Would he get her a gift this year? She'd probably appreciate it.

Kyo looked down at the random chocolate boxes and gift bags, until something caught his eyes. It was a small 'Hello Kitty' gift bag stuffed with candy, pencils, and other knick-knacks. Kyo personally thought it was too girly for his tastes, but decided that it was better than nothing.

Kyo slowly made his way to the cashier, pulling out his wallet to pay for the small gift. Kyo suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if he were being watched. He instinctively looked up and his eyes were greeted by sad gray ones.

"Kagura?" Kyo cursed himself for sounding so breathless. Kagura's eyes widened as she looked at him through the window, unable to move. Kyo took his chance and examined her. She didn't seem to be doing well because she looked a lot thinner than the last time he saw her and she had dark bags beneath her eyes as if she wasn't sleeping enough. She stood rooted on the spot till she suddenly turned around and ran away.

Kyo didn't hesitate, he ran after Kagura leaving his purchases forgotten on the counter.

"Kagura, wait!" He could see her small form a few feet away from him, but damn was she fast. "Kagura!"

Then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. A small choking sound emitted from Kagura's form as she suddenly collapsed onto her knees, as if unable to bear what was happening. She quickly got up and dusted herself off. Knowing that she had no chance to run away, she turned to face Kyo and forced a fake smile.

"Hello Kyo-kun." Her voice sounded so hollow and empty. "Going Christmas shopping?"

Kyo slowly nodded unable to believe what was happening. The woman of his thoughts was right here in front of him. This was his chance to finally tell Kagura everything that had happened, everything he was angry for, everything he was sad for, and everything he was confused about.

"I'm sure Tohru will like it." She paused then pulled something from inside her backpack. It was a small present wrapped in red and gold wrapper with a small white bow on the top. Kagura forced another smile on her face as she handed it to Kyo, "Merry Christmas."

"… Thank you." Kyo let a small smile slip onto his lips before he realized that he left Kagura's gift at the store.

"Well, bye." And with that she was gone.

All the pain I thought I knew,

All my thoughts lead back to you,

Back to what was never said,

Back and forth inside my head,

I can't handle this confusion,

I'm unable; come and take me away.

It was the evening before of New Years, several days after the encounter with Kagura and she just haunted Kyo's mind even more. When he returned the store, the gift he had bought was no longer there so he was unable to give Kagura a Christmas present.

Today was also the day of the New Years Feast that was held every year and he, being the cat of the zodiac, was not allowed to go. He felt that he was going to be very lonely tonight; even Tohru was going for Yuki's sake.

"Maybe I should go buy Kagura another gift…"

Kyo didn't know why he felt so obligated to buy Kagura a gift, but he did. Looking at the small unopened present on his desk he felt the feeling increase. Kyo slowly inched his way to his desk and picked up the small gift. He slowly began peeling the wrapper away, piece by piece. It was a small picture frame with a picture of the whole zodiac, which was taken last summer when they all went to the beach.

Thinking about it now, Kyo suddenly remembered how Kagura hadn't bothered him there. She stayed away most of the time. The only time she talked to him was when she greeted him in her usual way, maybe that's why he didn't notice the change until now. Kyo smiled at the picture, a moment into the past before Tohru threw him into a mass of confusion. Although he knew that she didn't want to hurt him, it wasn't essentially she who hurt him the most. Kagura's absence only made him realize how much he wanted her at that moment, just to remind him that he wasn't so invisible or unwanted. Even if all she said was a lie, he didn't care. Even if she was just pretending, he didn't care. He just needed some reminder telling him that he was human.

Kyo turned the picture frame over and saw a small note taped to the back. He gently pealed it off and opened it.

Dear Kyo-kun,

I know that you're probably really mad at me, but I just had to give this to you. This is my apology. I'm sorry for everything in the past, everything you remember and everything you don't. I can't say that I regret my actions, but I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for them all. Even though you're scowling at this letter, thinking that this is just another futile attempt to win you, it's okay because I accept it now. I promise that I'll try to keep away, for your comfort and health.

Merry Christmas,

Kagura

She was going to stay away? Why didn't that make him happy? Kyo could remember the countless times when he wished nothing more than for her to leave him alone, but now he wanted nothing more than just to be near her. He wanted to apologize for everything, she didn't need to.

Kyo felt a growing sadness within him, how could she just give up on him like that? Everything she said about always being there for him felt like such a lie right at that moment. Kyo could hear Tohru talking happily about how excited she was to be going to the party and Kyo could just imagine the scene going on downstairs. Shigure was probably near the door putting on his coat and Yuki's probably standing near Tohru telling her how the party won't be everything she imagined and that most of it would be boring.

"Bye Kyo-kun!" The three yelled simultaneously.

Kyo was then all alone, lying on his bed thinking about Kagura.

I'm going nowhere (on and on and),

I'm getting nowhere (on and on and),

Take me away,

I'm going nowhere (on and off and off and on).

A few hours passed till it was almost one in the morning, when a loud knocking sound at the door suddenly resounded in the house. Kyo sluggishly opened one eye and stared at the ceiling, not really wanting to open the door. The pounding, however, continued.

"Coming!" Kyo slowly climbed out of his bed and made his way to the door. There was a long moment of silence, in which Kyo thought that the intruder left, but then a small voice called out his name.

"Kyo-kun?"

Was that Kagura? What was she doing here if she knew that he was the only one here? Didn't she say that she'd stay away? Even so, Kyo unlocked the door and welcomed her in.

"What are you doing here?"

"I…" She seemed to be at a loss for words and just stood there gaping for a moment before continuing, "I just wanted to make sure you didn't have a lonely New Years." She looked up at him with her huge gray eyes before turning away, much like she did that day at the store. It looked like she was about to run away, but before she could leave Kyo grabbed her wrist.

"Why have you been ignoring me lately?"

"I thought that's what you wanted." She kept her face hidden from Kyo, as if ashamed.

Kyo's heart was suddenly pounding against his chest. All the frustration, anger, and desperation from the past weak poured into his body as he gripped Kagura's wrist a little tighter than he intended. "That's not what I wanted…"

"Kyo-kun, I thought that after Tohru's…" She paused before continuing with a small whisper, "rejection, you wouldn't want to see me. After she confide with me of her 'hidden' feelings I couldn't take it anymore. I know you love her and you probably always will. I confess that part of me was happy when she told me this, but a larger part of me was angry. How could she do this to you? I know it was a selfish thing for me to think, but I didn't want Tohru to love Yuki. I wanted her to love you."

"What?"

"I figured that if you loved her so much, she would rub off on you and you wouldn't be so annoyed with me. I… I just want to be your friend."

Another emotion seeped into Kyo's body, was it agitation? Why did women have to be so dramatic? That was not the emotion, however, it was love. A love deeper than he's ever felt before. Her absence just fueled his appreciation for her, her sweet intentions just enhanced his friendship with her, and her love heightened his love for her. Kyo finally began to realize the feelings he's been having these past few days, he missed Kagura.

Kyo slowly drew Kagura to him and hugged her close.

"Kagura, I don't want you to be just a friend."

Kagura looked up at Kyo expecting a glare, a stone hard glare, but it wasn't there. Instead of hatred or annoyance in his eyes, she saw something akin to love. Kagura sighed as she sunk into his embrace.

All the pain I thought I knew,

All my thoughts lead back to you,

Back to what was never said,

Back and forth inside my head,

I can't handle this confusion,

I'm unable; come and take me away.

Even though she didn't know what would happen tomorrow, even though she didn't know if she was just a rebound, at least she did know that this moment was not a dream.

Take me away.

THE END

I'm not sure if the song fit the story, I just wanted to do a one-shot so I picked whatever song sounded appropriate. Oh well, I hope y'all liked it.