I have been debating whether I should upload this now or wait until I finish writing it since I only have random chapters of it written, but since it's the end of the world, I figured might as well! c:

I do not own Fruits Basket.

Yuki

It was raining.

I noticed when I leaned back in my chair, away from the desk covered with scattered paper, to stretch my arms with a yawn. As I slouched back into my chair, I took off my glasses and rubbed my eyes. It was late, past midnight, but I still had a lot of leftover paperwork to finish. I guess I should have expected to have a lot of nights like this one after I received that promotion, but I doubt anyone enjoys staying up, reviewing company statistics and financial reports, when there is a comfortable bed and warm covers just up the stairs.

Glancing back at the stack of papers in front of me, I sighed and stood up to refill my empty coffee mug. As I pour the rest of the coffee from the pot into my cup, I pause to thank whoever invented the wonder of a machine that brewed coffee for me with a press of the button. I'm not quite sure where I'd be without this machine. Probably passed out under the couch in the lobby of the office building. I almost smiled to myself as I started back to the living room to tackle the next stack when the doorbell rang.

I will admit that I stared at the door with a rather dumbfounded expression for a minute before I even started over to it, wondering who could possibly be at my door at this hour. Without seeming too pitiful, I must confess that I don't receive many visitors, especially not this late. Even Machi, my girlfriend of five years, never stayed this late, and it couldn't even be her; she was gone for the weekend, visiting Kakeru, my self-appointed best friend and her stepbrother. More confused than cautious, I slowly made my way over to the door.

I found my real best friend, Tohru Honda, standing on my porch, head lowered and bangs dripping as they clung to her face. My utter shock might not make too much sense unless you know I've been in love with her for the past seven and a half years and that she has been dating my cousin and worst enemy for the past five, so I've been avoiding her for years. This is the first time I've seen her in five months, even though she lives barely twenty minutes away.

"Honda-san?"

It was only then did she look up, and it was hard to tell, but I knew it wasn't just the rain that made her face wet. Her eyes were red-rimmed and darkened with grief. I knew only one person could be responsible. My hands shook and my fingers curled and dug my fingernails into my palms.

"Can I come in, Yuki-kun?"

Her voice was weak and tired. She sounded afraid to speak. I was afraid if I spoke, she'd hear the fury in my voice, so I just nodded. Hesitantly, she stepped in, slowly looked around, and almost stepped out again, but I caught her arm. She peered up at me guiltily after looking down at the puddle beneath her feet. I just gave her a smile and helped her out of her thin jacket and hung it on the coat rack nearby. She slipped off the boots she was wearing but didn't move from the doorway until I tugged her inside. Her head hung as she diligently followed me into the kitchen.

"How about I make us a pot of tea?"

She nodded, then added, "I'm sorry, Yuki-kun, for coming so late. Am I disturbing you? I can leave if you're busy. I'm sure you need to sleep soon, don't you?"

"Don't worry, Honda-san. I wasn't doing much. I have plenty of time."

She didn't look convinced. "Well, let me at least help with the tea."

She took the kettle I had taken out of the cupboard and began filling it with water as I rummaged around other cabinets for tealeaves. As soon as I found them, she took them from me.

Soon enough, we were seated in the leaving room with two cups of tea. She faced the window as she sipped her tea, watching the heavy drops of rain pelt my windows.

"What happened, Honda-san?" I gently asked her.

She didn't turn from the window but took a deep breath.

"Kyo-kun and I had a big fight."

She stopped talking. I had to wait a few minutes before she turned back towards me, and tears glistened from her cheeks as she struggled in vain to keep them from falling.

"H-He got so mad when I accidentally forgot to take the leeks out of his dish. He started yelling, and didn't stop when I kept apologizing. He t-threw the dishes against the wall even though I had already waited hours for him to come home to eat a late dinner. I-I just left."

"Bastard," I muttered.

"I know it's not his fault, Yuki-kun. Well, not entirely. He just works really hard and is so tired when he gets home. And he doesn't mean it. But it's just been happening more and more."

It was a struggle to keep my grip on my cup light enough to keep the ceramic from shattering. She didn't seem to notice. I doubted she could make out my face through those tears pooling out of her eyes anyways. Following the downward trek of those tears, I saw something I don't think she meant me to. With her hands to her face, her sweater bunched up, and I spotted a purple stain peeking out at me.

I caught her hands and lowered them from her face. I used my other hand to sweep aside her long hair. Shaking, I tentatively slipped two fingers under the collar of her sweater, carefully pushing aside the pink fabric. If I hadn't been holding her sweater with one hand and her hands with the other, I'm sure I would have punched something. There was a large bruise, in the deepest shade of purple, spanning her collar bone. Her confusion at my actions seemed to have stopped her tears at least. Then she realized what I was looking at and practically shoved me away. She hurriedly readjusted her top, holding it over the bruise.

"Did he hit you?" I seethed in a whisper, desperately trying to hide the ire from my voice.

"N-No! It wasn't like that, Yuki-kun! It was an accident! He wasn't trying to hit me. I-It just bounced off the wall, and I was standing too close- Yuki-kun, please. Don't be angry at him," she pled, slipping her hands out of mine and caressing the sides of my face, forcing me to look at her.

"Honda-san?"

"I don't know why everything is like this now, Yuki-kun. Kyo-kun was never like this when we first moved away. I know Kyo-kun is not like Yuki-kun, and Kyo-kun just gets mad a little easier and faster, but he doesn't mean anything by it! He doesn't! He loves me! And we were so happy at first! Why aren't we happy anymore?! We were so happy… And now he just seems angry."

I copied her, holding her face in my hands. I had only intended to brush the lingering tears from her face, but after my thumbs slid under her eyes, I couldn't seem to move away. Actually, I scooted closer to her.

"Did I do something wrong, Yuki-kun? Why is everything wrong now?"

"No, Honda-san. Honda-san is perfect. It's the stupid cat's fault if he doesn't treasure what he's so lucky to have."

She stared at me with those large brown eyes, and I can't say for sure who moved first, but I knew our faces were inching nearer. Her eyes were fluttering closed, and she left her mouth hanging open half a centimeter. I don't know how that progressed to carrying her upstairs and tugging off her sweater or even how long it took to progress to this.

It passed as a fervor of frenzied kisses, heated pants, and tangled limbs.

I didn't really process what I just did or with whom I did it until she was slumbering, curled up against me with her head burrowed between my chest and shoulder, her hair splayed across me, and her arms wrapped snuggly around my waist. I stared at her, watching her breathe heavily in her sleep. She looked beautiful with her disheveled hair, clad in nothing but my thin sheets, smiling faintly as she dreamed. I'd be lying if I tried to say this isn't what I had yearned for, dreamed of for so long. To find myself gazing down at her large brown eyes as she gasped for breath and whispered to me, "I love you, Yuki-kun. I love you. I love you so much."

It was more than I ever expected. More than I ever deserved.

"I love you too, Tohru. I always have," I had told her at the time before I leant down and kissed her.

Everything had seemed perfect then.

Now I wasn't so sure. I couldn't help wondering if she meant what she said or if I had just taken advantage of the girl I claimed to love more than anything else. I knew I should feel guilty about that. I should feel guilty about betraying Machi, my supposed girlfriend, and Kyo, my cousin, but I couldn't quite muster up those negative emotions with the girl I love finally in my arms. I kept running my fingers through those long, tangled locks of silky mahogany hair.

I couldn't shake the feeling that this was just a fleeting dream to be cherished before it ended.

At some point, I fell asleep because the next thing I knew I was squinting my eyes against the bright shafts of light streaming in through the window curtains. I groaned and started to get up to close those cursed fluttering things, but I couldn't get out of bed. Groggily, I looked beside me to see what restrained me. I nearly jumped out of bed when I saw my arm trapped in Tohru's hold, but again, she restrained me from moving very far. For such a gentle-looking girl, she had a tight hold, even though she was still asleep. Slowly, my heart calmed as I stared at her and reached forward to brush stray locks from her face with my free hand.

Then my heart began pounding again as I heard a quick succession of stomps racing up the stairs and my bedroom door was thrust open.

"Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuki! I hope you don't mind! I let myself in! You left your door unlocked, and I really need to talk to you because Kagura-chan has been trying to call you all night, but you wouldn't pick up. She needs to know if she can- Oh!"

There stood Momiji Sohma, my younger cousin, blabbering with a grin across his face until he noticed I wasn't alone. Then his smile grew almost mischievously until Tohru began to stir. She sat up, rubbing her eyes and allowing Momiji a good look at her face.

"Yuki-kun, what's happening?" she murmured.

Momiji's smile dropped off his face immediately. He stared in shock, his large eyes even larger than usual. I must have been staring at him, because Tohru quickly turned her gaze from me to him, and then she stared too. She pulled my sheets to cover herself a little more securely. She seemed nervous, sitting there and switching her gaze from Momiji back to me. I think she started to scoot away from me. I didn't dare look at her, but I felt the mattress shift. I'm sure she was looking at the wall with an expression of guilt, regret, and shame, not that I blame her. Worse emotions probably contorted my face.

Momiji regained his composure first. He turned his face towards the ground, refusing to look at either of us. Instead, he took a few steps out until he stood outside of the room and was barely in sight anymore.

"I'm sorry for barging in. I'll just leave you a note in the kitchen, okay?"

He didn't wait for a reply, and though I could hardly see him, I could hear his steps thundering away, so I knew he ran. Then the front door slammed. It grew eerily quiet. I had to count to a hundred before I dared to look at Tohru, and I hated myself for only being able to think about how beautiful she looked for a minute. She had her back to me with her long hair spilled over her shoulders as she used both hands to hold the sheet around herself. I couldn't bring myself to look at her face as I stood up and pulled some clothes on.

"I'll give you some privacy," I called over my shoulder as I started out of the room.

She turned towards me as she nodded in response, and I could tell she was waiting for me to say something else. Expecting me to do something else, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what she was begging of me. It may have been my imagination, but she looked disappointed when I uncomfortably stepped out without saying anything more.

I consider this impure Yukiru because it's a little darker, I guess, and because you don't have to interpret their love as genuine (but I do!). I'll try my best to update weekly/biweekly, but it shouldn't matter too much since the plot is predictable at best (Especially if you've read my other stories), so there aren't going to be any shocking revelations or cliffhangers that you'll be antsy about. I'll even tell you how it ends- with a punch. c; Literally. This will be more of a character study with every chapter in the perspective of a different living Fruits Basket character and a ginormous rant on the implausibility of Kyoru (Argue with me all you want about that! I love to argue c:). I also apologize for how Kyo is portrayed in this chapter, but what do you expect? It's Yuki's chapter. I promise he is portrayed better in other chapters! Enjoy?