Ok guys, here it is! I'm much more of a Kyo and Tohru person, but Yukiru is fine too. I have been going through a HUGE Yuki phase, so O.o Anyways, this is dedicated to my bestest friends Evanescent Time and Nightstar127. I hope you guys like it!

Disclaimer: Owning Fruits Basket, I do not. If I did, well, i don't know. Be afraid if I did XD

"Talking"

Thinking

Enjoy, dear readers! ;)

It was a shock when it happened.

One day she was here, and the next, she wasn't. No one had anticipated what would happen when she got in the car, coming home from the movies. There was no way they could have known that the driver rounding the corner was a drunk. They couldn't stop her car from flipping over...3 times. And yet, it happened. Her body was completely crushed by the weight of the car when Kyo and Shigure got to her. From the very beginning, her fate was sealed. There was no hope for her survival. Tohru Honda was dead.

Her funeral came a few days later, It had gone by fast-too fast. Almost a blur. Neither Yuki, nor Kyo, had shed a tear. They stood impossibly stiff, faces fixed in emotionless facades, leaving a completely tense aura around them. But who were they to blame? Everyone had filed out, each on their own time. The two zombies lingered by Tohru's grave for far too long. The sun was setting when they finally considered leaving.

"Hey." Shigure spoke as he walked towards the duo. His voice was soft, but nonetheless sad. "It's about time to leave, you know." A breeze sifted over the grassy hill, tussling the boys' hair, revealing their stone-cold faces.

"I don't want to leave her." Yuki spoke flatly. "I wasn't there...I need to...to-"

"Don't think you need to make up for not experiencing her death." The dog interjected coldly. "be glad you weren't there." Yuki's hands clenched into fists. He was struggling. Finally, he turned around.

"Alright." he said, giving in to Shigure's words. "Come on, Kyo."
Kyo, following Yuki's lead, murmured, "Don't order me around. Damn rat." They paid their final respects before departing.

As they left the grave, Yuki whispered, "Goodbye, Miss Honda."

Life at the household was rough from then on. Kyo would continue to disappear for a couple of days, always returning beaten, messy, and with a bad attitude. Yuki was silent. He never spoke as he did his duties, didn't pick fights with Kyo, and was practically an empty shell. The garden he put his whole heart into making eventually went to waste. All over the house, Yuki was constantly breaking things, let it be glasses to mirrors, or windows to plates. Whether it was intentional or an accident, things were still shattering at the Rat Boy's hands. And Shigure, well, he was just trying to keep everyone together. He put aside his novelist duties in order to make up for what was missing. He even tried (to no avail) to learn cooking. Still, things didn't work out. Nothing was the same. The food was bland and even the trash started to build up.

Everyday, Yuki and Kyo would come home from school, feeling empty. Every time someone looked in the kitchen they expected to see that perky, work-a-holic brunette that they all seemed to adore. Kyo would sit atop the roof under the night sky, and turn to his left to find the normally occupied space was empty. He missed the talks they'd share, and how she always seemed to make him feel, well, good.

Yuki would always have the urge to turn around and ask what plant they should grow next. Soon after, he would realise that Tohru, and his garden, were gone. Yuki wanted her back. He wanted her bright spirit, pumped attitude, and calming nature to return. He craved the feeling of her soft, warm body in his arms. He missed the gleaming look in her eyes every time they exchanged words. After a month of these feelings, Yuki realised that it wasn't want... It was NEED. Yuki NEEDED Tohru. Upon reaching this conclusion, things only went downhill.

He would get ANGRY all the time! He would be silent, and then just BURST with emotion. Always yelling, always fighting, even Kyo was worn out. Yuki, he couldn't control it. He couldn't stop the rage building up inside of him. The monster within, always itching to get out. The fury, burning deep inside of his gut.

One evening, Shigure approached Yuki. Kyo was gone again and the rat seemed to be pretty off that day. "Yuki," Shigure spoke, suddenly serious.

"What do you want?" The boy snapped.

"I can see how, well, pissed off you are right now," Shigure started slowly, "I don't want you causing anymore trouble in my house (I couldn't afford more things breaking), so why don't you go visit Tohru?"

Yuki froze in his place. Tohru, Tohru. The ever so familiar name flashed through his brain over and over again. Tohru. It was practically taboo in this house now,Tohru, and yet it rolled off The dog's tongue so easily. "What?" he managed to spit out. Tohru!

"You haven't seen her since the funeral. It's kind of rude, you know. She must be so lonely," Shigure spoke with a sigh. "it would be good for you to go pay your respects. Maybe work out these 'issues' you've been having?" the dog offered.

Yuki stared at the ground. He was right. How could I be so uncaring? he close his eyes in shame. Tohru...Yet again, her name flashing right back through his brain. "Ok," the rat said, turning towards the dog, "I'll do it!"

Shigure smiled in response and looked back at the newspaper in his hand. Yuki, however, burst back out through the doors. He found himself running. Running towards the exact object he'd been avoiding. His feet slammed to the ground at a quick, constant pace. The force picked up dirt along with it. Suddenly, he stopped. Yuki dropped to his knees, gasping for air. Asthma. Damn it. Getting over it, the boy was soon on his feet again, pounding through the dirt, gravel, and eventually grass. Above him, the sky rumbled. A storm was soon to come.

Yuki finally reached it. Her grave, right next to her mother's. It was pearl white, and glimmering with the same radiance Tohru gave off when she was alive. Her name was etched so elegantly in the marble grave. The beauty was perfect. It matched it's owner to a 'T'. The boy dropped to the moist grass. He stared at the magnificent grave, and allowed himself to mellow, remembering the amazing girl that had once existed in this world. "Tohru," the name finally escaped his mouth. "Tohru!" Thunder echoed through the skies. Yuki felt a presence from behind him. Turning, he saw it. His eyes widened. His heart stopped. His breath quickened. He saw it.

He saw Tohru. Her brown hair moved in a wind that Yuki couldn't feel. Her aqua eyes shined the same way she used to. And her smell. Just like strawberries. Like the ones the used to plant in his old garden. The image of Tohru smiled. She walked over with such grace, it was almost as if she was floating.

Yuki stood up. He was absolutely shocked. Was this really happening? Was that really her? Even he had his doubts, but they seemed to fade with each step Tohru took towards she was just inches away from his face. "Tohru," Yuki breathed, "Are you...?" But the image closed the space between them before he could finish. Her lips were as cold as ice, but welcoming. Yuki pressed further, finally receiving the long-awaited kiss (though he never expected it to be after she was deceased), but then, something happened. The cold feeling left his lips and soon he was just kissing air. He opened his eyes to see that Tohru, or what might have been her, was gone. A shiver went up his spine and chilled him to the bone.

Rain began to fall. Each drop felt like a thousand pounds on his body, weighing him down until Yuki was on his knees once more. Finally, his eyes began to water. Tears fell heavily down his face, mixing with the rain. They were hot, burning into his skin, and they were angry. His body shook with every sob. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He gave in. He gave in to the anger and grief that had been welled up in his body for so long. The feeling that had been eating away at his life. He'd wanted to be strong, he'd wanted to hold on, but all he was doing was hiding. He was hiding his weakness that he was now openly showing. Yuki fell from his knees and laid, curled up before the grave that was now almost a weapon, prodding at his spirit, tearing him to pieces. Every heart-wrenching sob he took shot a pain through his body. Every tear drop that fell scalded his soul. And that grave, that damnable grave just stood there as a reminder that something was missing.

"Tohru!" the boy howled, the words tearing from his throat, causing it to burn. "I'm sorry!" He hiccuped. "I'm sorry..."

And his sobs were slowing, the tears fell softer, and his heart was broken. He lay there, before his queen, opening his mentally hurt self to her. He prayed for her to speak to him. He needed her to use her 'Tohru Magic' and let him know everything was ok. But it wasn't. Nothing was going to happen. Tohru was dead. So he remained in that broken state, mud covering his hands, cheeks, and knees. The rain continued to fall, singing a soft lullaby, and numbing the boy of his pain. He drifted off to sleep before the grave of Tohru Honda, awaiting dreams and nightmares of the girl he'd once loved and would never return.

And, that's it. Read and Review please!