Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Chapter One : A Damn Mysterious Boy

Dinner was ready. Shigure and Kyo were seated at the table, and Tohru was fetching the chopsticks. She laid them out on the table, but stopped when she laid down the fourth pair. Standing, she turned to Shigure. "Where's Sohma-kun?"

Shigure shrugged. "I don't know, Tohru-kun. Why don't you go check and see if he's still in his room?" Tohru nodded, and went upstairs. When her footsteps faded, Kyo turned and glared at Shigure.

"What the hell did you tell her that for? You want her to find out that he locked himself up there again on her own? Why didn't you just tell her?" Kyo whispered harshly, not wanting to risk being heard by Tohru. Shigure shook his head.

"Yes, that was my intention. Its better that way, don't you think? After the argument you two had, and then when Akito…" He stopped, his eyes dropping to the table. Kyo shuddered when Shigure said his name. "You know, she's going to stay up there for a while. Why don't you go sit with her, and bring her up some dinner? It's half your fault that he's in there, anyway."

Kyo, after a while, came upstairs to sit with Tohru. As the daylight waned and the wee hours of the night approached, she fell asleep with her head in Kyo's lap. Cringing and first and trying to get the girl off of him, Kyo soon realized that if he moved her, she would wake up. Sighing, he settled himself in for a long, probably sleepless, night that he would spend alone with his thoughts.

'Do you really care about Yuki, locking himself in his room like this, Kyo? Whatever the damn dog says, it is your fault,' he asked himself after awhile. He pondered on it, but his mind constantly danced around the issue. He almost couldn't bring himself to think about if he really did care. Brushing it off, he looked down at Tohru's peaceful face. She was breathing softly, tear-stains from crying earlier dried on her face. She shuddered in her sleep, and mumbled. Kyo couldn't make out what she was saying. Placing his hand on her forehead, he found it hot. Fever. He'd get her medicine and make some leek stew in the morning. Sighing for the billionth time that night, Kyo rested his head against the wall and fell asleep.

-

Early the next morning, Shigure went upstairs to check on them. He found them both sleeping, Tohru's head in the cat's lap and Kyo's hand on her head. Sighing, he rested his head against the wall.

Creak. Starting, Shigure looked around to find the source of the noise. He just barely saw Yuki's door close. Sighing again, he turned on his heel and went back downstairs. Yuki had seen the two sleeping, and after the fight he had had, seeing this would do anything but make him come out again.

-

Kyo walked to school alone the next day. Tohru was sick, and sleeping. Yuki was still in his room. Tohru had tried this morning to talk to him, but Yuki wasn't saying anything. The only way anyone could tell that he was still alive was by his occasional groan and flush of the toilet. Kyo rolled his eyes, and tried to shake off the feeling that Tohru and Yuki's misery were both all his fault. He couldn't. Letting out an angry yell, he ran as fast as he could all the way to school.

Hana saw him first. Pointing at him, she told Uo that orange-head was at school, but no Prince or Tohru-kun. Uo was infuriated. She pounced on Kyo, bombarding him with questions.

"Where's Tohru?" Uo said, her eyes glittering. Kyo avoided her eyes.

"S-sick," said Kyo. As soon as he heard himself stutter, he cussed inwardly.

"That is a lie. Where is she?" asked Hana.

"Aren't you two overreacting? She's sick!"

"Su-re. Your eyes tell a different story, orange-head. Spit it out." Sighing Kyo tugged his finger for the two to follow.

"Fine. I'll tell you. It's a long story, so be prepared to skip first class. C'mon, let's find somewhere quiet."

-

The Sohma house's gardens were in full bloom. Birds sang joyfully, fluttering around the bird feeders. Akito was lying on his side, staring out at the scenery. It was warm, so he was on the porch. The floor creaked, and Akito looked up. Shigure was standing in the doorway, looking down at Akito with a smile. It was not one of the dog's warm smiles, or one of his playful ones. The smile was cold, and every ounce of the coldness on his lips was reflected in his eyes. Akito smiled back.

"Ah, Shigure. Did it work?" asked Akito in his soft voice. Shigure's smile became colder.

"Yes, Akito-san. It worked quite well. You have always been most full of brilliant ideas," replied Shigure. He knelt next to Akito, and kissed him lightly on the nose. Akito's expression darkened for a brief moment, but soon disappeared.

"Won't you stay awhile, Shigure? You have nothing to attend to, right?"

"I believe I can, Akito. I believe I can…"

-

Hatsuharu found Kyo, Uo, and Hana on the roof on the way to cut his first class. He was concerned when he didn't see Yuki. Kyo retold the events of last night to the cow. Haru flopped onto his back, and looked up at the clouds.

"Hey, orangey. You said that the prince locked himself in his room again. You mean he's locked himself in his room before?" asked Uo. Haru answered the question.

"Yes. This is the third time. When he was six, after Akito beat him for the first time, and then seven years later, after…" Haru's voice faltered. Kyo finished his sentence.

"Yuki was going to a different school up until he was thirteen. He met a girl there, and really liked her. They always hung out together, and were considered a couple. Akito saw them walking home from school one day. They were holding hands. Akito was enraged, and two days later her father, mother, and she were in a car crash. All three died." A tear dripped from Uo's eye, but she quickly swiped it away. Hana handed her a handkerchief, then spoke. Kyo continued. "The first time, it was four days. The second, two weeks. He drank out of the sink in the bathroom attached to his room, and snuck downstairs in the middle of the night for food. We didn't try to catch him."

"You mean that, possibly, something of the same nature happened to cause him to lock himself in his room?" Kyo and Haru nodded simultaneously.

"Most likely," said Haru. Kyo stared at the ground. Hana noticed this, but didn't bring it up. Kyo looked up again, and his gaze was instantly met by Hana's. Something in her eyes told Kyo that she knew that he wasn't saying something. Kyo ignored it, and looked away again.

"He's a damn mysterious boy…"

Yuki was curled up on his bed, crying. He had been sobbing at first, after Akito had said those horrible things, made those horrible threats. His crying had gradually subsided, and he decided to try to sneak out of his room and get Tohru. He wanted to talk to her so bad, that it hurt him even more that he was already. It was around midnight when he opened his door. Instantly, Yuki saw Kyo and Tohru sleeping. The shock was so great that he couldn't tear his eyes away. Anger boiled up inside him, and he shut the door. Locking it, he lay back down on the bed, and began to weep.