Your Song a fruits basket fanfiction Chapter 1, a fruits basket fanfic

"Your Song"

Hello, This is Nalanna with a second fanfiction! This one is a fruit's basket one. It isn't my first attempt at fruits basket, but it is the first one that I have finished, so I suppose technically, it could be my first...

Anyhoo, the inspiration from this was a long time in coming (my plot bunnies decided to holiday in Hawaii with another author's plot bunnies, the result of which was writers block...) I had watched Moulin Rouge and I couldn't get "Your Song" out of my head, so I listened to the proper version by Elton John. Then, as I was making a sandwich the idea struck me! (Note: no sandwiches are mentioned...) Sooo...this is the result of some freaky twists of fate! Enjoy!!

Summary: Kyo Sohma is bored after an injury causes him to not be able to train for two weeks. What happens when he is introduced to Elton John on the radio?

Warning: I had the fluff machine on full pelt with this one...I hope...

(Notes: The words in italics during "present" mode are Kyo's thoughts. The words in italics in "flashback" mode indicate a flashback. The song is written in italics to differentiate between Kyo's reaction and the lyrics. The words in bold are the words of the radio presenters.)

The sun shone relentlessly over the Sohma estate. The fields were dyed a dusky gold, as were the treetops of the nearby woods. The forest floor was painted in sharp contrast of light and shadow; patches of glittering, swirling sun made the dark green shady areas seem almost black in comparison.

Kyo Sohma, however, did not notice any of this as he made his way home from the dojo. He was too wrapped up in self-disgust to look around him and take note of the incredible beauty that surrounded him.

Earlier on, his Shishou had challenged him to a fight. Shocked and flattered by this rare opportunity, Kyo had happily accepted the challenge.

It had been vicious: Kazuma Sohma was a fierce fighter and struck fear into the hearts of his opponents. (This was one of the reasons why he ran the dojo. The other was because Akito wanted to keep his meddling ways as far away from the main house as possible.)

However, Kyo was not put off by his masters' reputation. He had his own self-confidence, and believed his own abilities to be good enough to give him a fair chance at winning.

The result of the battle had been nail-bitingly close. If it hadn't been for Kyo losing his balance at the last minute, he would have possible got a touch in, but as it was, he fell heavily to the ground, crunching his arm under the entire weight of his body.

Consequently, Kazuma had called an end to the fight and attended to Kyo's arm. Fortunately for Kyo, it wasn't broken-just sprained and bruised- but Kazuma had sternly ordered Kyo to lay off the training for a fortnight.

A fortnight! What the hell was he supposed to do for two whole weeks if he wasn't allowed to train? Plus, he didn't think he could bear seeing the look on that damn rat's face when he walked in with his arm in a sling. He could see the smug expression now...hear the snide comments...feel the shame..

And that lecherous dog; he could hear the laughter already, the flippant remarks, the taunting...

As for Tohru... Kyo didn't want to think about it; Tohru panicked if he came home with a grazed elbow, so to walk in sporting a shiny new sling would be provoking "ultimate meltdown".

He sighed heavily as the house came into view. He couldn't avoid it forever...

Straightening his shoulders in determination, he walked purposefully to the main door, attempting to slip off his shoes in the hallway. However, unlacing trainers one handed was difficult at the best of times, but coupled with the desire to be silent, and you are left with anything but stealth.

Over balancing for the second time that day, Kyo fell head first into the umbrella stand, creating a loud and echoing crash. This -followed by colourful cursing on the cat's behalf- drew a scared looking Tohru from the depths of the kitchen.

"Um...hello?" She murmured, before her mahogany eyes fell upon Kyo sprawled upon the ground, tangled up with umbrellas and parasols (and for some odd reason, a giant plushy python...)

Tohru gasped in horror and rushed to Kyo's aid.

"Kyo-kun, are you hurt? Did you injure yourself at all? Kyo-kun!" She asked incessantly. Kyo bit his tongue in fear of shouting at her. After all, he thought, it isn't her fault that I've made such a mess of things...

Kyo inhaled deeply, then placed a finger on Tohru's lips to cut her off mid-babble. If he hadn't been so intent on directing Tohru's attentions from his sling, he would have noticed the pinkish tinge that had bloomed on Tohru's cheeks.

"Tohru," he said irritably, "I'm fine, I just err...tripped over the rug and err... Oh great! Really inventive...

"But are you ok?" She repeated through a mouthful of Kyo's finger. The movement of her lips made Kyo realise that he still had his finger on her mouth. Blushing slightly, he removed it before she said anything about it, hoping to god that she didn't pick up from where she left off.

"I'm fine!" He replied flatly.

"Well... if you are sure..." Said Tohru uncertainly.

She still hadn't noticed the sling. It seemed almost too ironic to Kyo, that she could find the smallest imaginary ailment, and yet not see his glaringly obvious sling. It was almost funny.

"I am fine!" He repeated with emphasis, struggling to stand. It was then that Tohru noticed the clinically white fabric tied around the boy's neck.

"Kyo-kun?" Her voice rose alarmingly in pitch. "Kyo-kun... you are wearing a-a sling..." It was clear to Kyo how hard Tohru was working to remain calm; she had gained a slight twitch in her temple. Mentally shaking himself for his stupidity, he gave in.

"Yeah it's a sling,"he replied in a bored voice, trying as hard as could to down play it,"

"I sprained my arm whilst training- it's nothing though." His last words, however, were lost in a squeal of horror from Tohru.

He allowed her to kick up a fuss. She checked that his bandages were still tied firmly. She checked that he wasn't running a fever (Why would I get a fever from spraining my arm? He thought wearily as she took the thermometer from his mouth.)

She forced him to his room where she made him sit down in the chair that she had struggled down the hallway with. Kyo tried to protest at this: having her physically move furniture for him was all that his pride could take, but she just waved his words away, saying that he wouldn't want to be bothered when the others came home, so he could sit comfortably in his own room and not be disturbed.

Kyo sighed. Well, he thought, she's going to do it anyway...why stop her...

Kyo Sohma was bored. It had only been two days since he had sprained his arm, and already he was itching to train.

Tohru was flapping around him in a panic every few hours, making sure that he was comfortable, that he wasn't hungry, that he was resting. Especially that he was resting; she had caught him trying to move his chair closer to the window once. He flinched away from the thought.

Shigure and Yuki had both reacted accordingly with Kyo's expectations. The dog's laughter still rang in his ears, whilst the rat's comments still made his blood boil.

He sighed dejectedly. I'm bored! His mind screamed at him.

He scanned his room desperately for something-anything- to occupy himself with. Reading was out of the question: not only had he read everything that was on his shelves, books required two hands, and he didn't want to risk Tohru finding him using his sprained arm again.

Kyo avoided looking at his weights. The pain was…just… too great…

He supposed he could go and watch TV, but that would mean sharing oxygen with that rat, so it was out of the question.

Just then, his eyes fell upon a little grey box. Tohru's radio he thought. He smiled, suddenly grateful for the girl's over worry. What was it that she had said?

"Kyo-kun, I thought you might be bored, so if you like, you can borrow my mom's radio. I'm sure she won't mind you using it."

"Err…thanks Tohru," he had replied, not wanting to hurt her feelings. He very rarely listened to music- he didn't see the point of it.

-"I'm not stupid!" He snapped, instantly regretting it.
"Oh no! I didn't mean that you were stupid! I just meant that it is an awkward make and it took ages to learn how to use it when we first got it- not that you'd find it difficult of course! It's just me being silly and thinking that you are like me when it comes to gadgets- but of course you aren't like me-ouch!"
Due to her immense distress, Tohru had accidentally kicked a weight, resulting in Kyo forcing her to sit down and show him how to work the radio. It was easy enough, but he had to keep Tohru from running around on her no doubt bruised toes.

Chuckling to himself, Kyo leant over to the table and switched the power on. After searching for some kind of radio signal, he found a station that was dedicated to the older generation. Having no desire to try and find a "cooler" station, Kyo sat back and listened to the idle chitchat of the radio presenters.

"Well of course, Elton John is H-U-G-E over in England and America; those westerners can't seem to get enough of him." Stated a rough male voice. "Which is all well and good but what about the general reaction over here in Japan?"

"I believe that he is just as big over here as he is over there!" Replied a sultry female voice, "Honestly! He has a worldwide appeal and a stunning, glittering career to boot. It is hard to think of anyone that dislikes him!"

"There you go folks!" The presenter surmised, the interview clearly finished, "Confident words form a confident cultural expert. And to prove we aren't just a load of hot air, today we are dedicating the entire show to Elton John. The first song we are going to play for you this afternoon, is called "Candle in the Wind", a song dedicated to the late Princess Diana of England…"

Kyo listened with interest. He liked the sound of this Elton John guy. He wasn't whining on about stupid things like broken relationships- which was all Kyo listened to, before refusing to listen to music again because he was so disgusted with the lyrics- he was singing bout how wonderful the Princess was before she died…

"The candle burnt out long ago, the legend never did."

"And that was "Candle in the wind" by Elton John. We will next be continuing our Elton John day with one of his most popular songs called "Your Song". And it seems it is up to you to decide who it is dedicated to…"
Kyo thought, puzzled.

However, Kyo was distracted as the opening lyrics hit him with the force of sledgehammer.

"It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside
I'm not one of those who can easily hide"-

Kyo was stunned. This song was about…

"Don't have much money, but if I did,
I'd buy a big house where we both could live"

There was no doubting it! This song was about him; and- he shivered as cold realization hit him. It was about him, and how he felt for Tohru. He was unnerved. How did this Elton John guy know when not even he knew until a second ago? He leaned into the radio, not wanting to miss a single word…

"If I was a sculptor, but then again "no",
Or a man, who makes potions in a traveling show
I know it's not much, but it's the best that I can do
My gift is my song and this one's for you."

He didn't have anything to give her. Not a song or a word of poetry. He couldn't even give her smile in return for all of the things that she did for him. How often had he treated her unkindly? How often had he tried to hide behind his "irritation" at having her "bother" him? How often had he looked at her and pretended not to feel the painful twang in his heart?

"And you can tell everybody this is your song.
It may be quite simple but now that it's done,
I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind
That I put down in words, how wonderful life is
While you're in the world"

It was true! Every word of it. His life was wonderful now that she was in his world. She had brightened up everything around him, unlocked his cage and shown him the outside world…

"I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss
Well a few of the verses, well they got me quite cross"

How many times had he escaped to the roof to seethe about one thing or another? And how many times had she poked her head over the tiles to see if he was ok? And how many times had he shouted at her to go away, only to regret it afterwards, but pushing his feelings deep within in his soul, only to visit them in his dreams…

"But the sun's been quite kind while I wrote this song.
It's for people like you that keep it turned on"

Yes…the sun always shone that little bit brighter when she smiled…

"So excuse me forgetting, but these things I do,
You see, I forgotten if they're green or they're blue"

Kyo winced at this part: It sounded like something he would do. But- Kyo smiled in relief- as he remembered that they were brown. The deepest, most beautiful shade of brown ever…

"Anyway, the thing is, what I mean,
Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen"

Full of warmth, kindness, laughter, love- and yet there was something else. Something that she kept locked away deep inside her, such a sadness…Kyo had noticed it from the beginning, but had never thought to ask her about it…

-Kyo whispered along with the last few words, his heart racing-

-"How wonderful life is
While you're in the world"

The tinkling melody slowed to a silence, while the radio presenter gave the song a suitably respectful pause before he launched into his drawl, almost as if he knew that Kyo had been listening, and that his whole take on his relationship with Tohru had just shifted to a whole new level.

"And that was"-

Kyo hastily switched the radio off. His heart and mind were racing, both demanding attention. He laid back in his chair- the chair that she had moved for him so as he wouldn't have to suffer his family's company- and sighed. He sat like that for a few minutes, waiting for his heart to return to a normal pace, and for his thoughts to form some kind of logical order.

It was just then that the girl herself knocked on the door, then bustled in with a tray of her expertly cooked food. Kyo's heart (which had, by then, returned to a somewhat slower speed) struck up a hefty drum roll against his ribs. It was so loud he could have sworn that she could hear it.

"Kyo-kun, I made you some food, because you need to keep your strength up whilst you are recovering- I hope you don't mind?"

Kyo just shook his head, the usual thoughts of "why would I mind?" noticeably absent.

Tohru set the tray of food on the table next to the radio and beamed up at him. "I made your favourite…" She trailed off as she saw how red Kyo looked. "Kyo-kun?" She asked worriedly, "Kyo-kun are you feeling alright?" She leaned in closer to feel his forehead and was alarmed to discover that not only was he burning up, but he was struggling to breathe as well.

"Oh no! Kyo-kun you have a fever! Oh, this is all my fault!" She wailed, her eyes filling up with tears. "If I had maybe made you go to bed instead of letting you sit up. Or maybe I should have checked on you more often or…or…called Hatori-san for advice…who was I to think that I could look after you and help you recover? Oh! I am so stupid!"

At these words, Kyo snapped out of his trance. "Tohru, you are not stupid!" He replied firmly, desperate to make her feel better, but not wanting to tell her the real reason he was red and hyperventilating. "Err…err…it was all…it was… it was my fault!" He stuttered, hoping that his lack of eye contact would make it look like he was guilty, and not like he was avoiding her gaze because of other feelings.

Tohru stopped waving her arms about and stared at Kyo wide eyed. "Y-your fault Kyo-kun?" She echoed quietly. "Why?"

"Well, I err…I…got…got… bored!" Kyo started, hoping that his imagination would come up with a better excuse than "I tripped over the rug…"

"Yeah, bored, and I err… well I… decided to err… go out for a…a … run! A run! And erm… I just got back so… err… so I would be a bit out of breath and red and hot so…" He trailed off lamely, keeping his eyes downcast so that he couldn't see the look on her sweet face.

"Oh," was all that she could say, but the relief that it wasn't something terrible that she had done was plain for anyone to hear.

"I'm sorry Tohru," he mumbled shamefacedly. His apology was genuine; he was sorry that he couldn't tell her the truth…

"It's ok, Kyo-kun. I had no idea you were so bored, so really, it is my fault!" Kyo's head snapped up in shock.

"What?" He asked, too stunned to say anything more intelligent.

"Well," she replied carefully, as if choosing her words, "if I had maybe visited you a bit more," her face reddened, "then maybe you wouldn't have felt the need to go off on a run and damage your recovery."

Kyo just stared at her. She was still taking the blame? After he made it clear that it was all his fault in the first place? He shook his head in disbelief and said, "Tohru, stop blaming yourself. Please?" He looked at her then. He wanted all of his feelings to be conveyed through his eyes into hers, because he seriously doubted that he could tell her straight.

But of course, she was oblivious. She nodded hastily. "So… do you still want me to visit you more?" She asked shakily, the blush on her face deepening. However, her blush was just a light dusting of pink compared to Kyo's.

"Err…yeah…I suppose…" He mumbled, "Only if you want to though! I don't want to be a burden!"

Tohru looked shocked. "Kyo-kun! You will never be a burden! How could you think like that?"

"I…well…I…" His embarrassment of the situation was growing bigger by the second. He searched his mind desperately for a distraction. Again, his eyes fell on the radio.

"Have you listened to this guy Tohru?" He asked quickly, as he switched on the radio to the station playing Elton John songs.

Tohru tilted her head to one side as she listened to the song pouring out from the speakers. Her eyes widened in recognition. "That's Elton John!" She said in wonderment. "The song is called "Tiny Dancer" and… well, this used to be one of mine and mom's favourite songs…"

"Really?" Kyo asked curiously. "What other songs does he sing?"

Tohru looked at him and smiled happily. "There was one called "candle in the Wind" which was dedicated to Princess Diana of England…we played that one at my mom's funeral" She added sadly, but brightened as she continued, "Then there is "The circle of Life" from the "Lion King", and "can you feel the love tonight?" which is also in the Lion King. And oh! There is "Your song"."

Kyo's eyes widened. " "Your song?" " He repeated hesitantly.

Tohru nodded. "Yeah. That was my favourite of all of them. Why? You seem to know it?"

Kyo knew it all right. He owed a lot to that song and was determined to pay off his debt. But, as he looked at the girl in front of him, smiling gently, and looking at him with curiosity, he decided he wouldn't tell her yet. She was too special and precious to him to rush into things. So instead, he smiled, noting with some satisfaction that she was blushing again, and said: "It was on just a while ago…but they might play it again."

Tohru beamed. "I hope they do!" She replied.

Kyo thought.

End

So! What did you think? Like? Dislike? Hated so much that you attempted to claw your eyes out? Let me know! (However, no flames please "cowers") I welcome constructive criticism like: "did I keep them in character or not?" "Was it a load of crap?" Etc.

Please review! You see the little purple button? It is nice and shiny isn't it? You want to press it don't you? Yeiss you do... ahem... ;)