What does it take to say ?
Plot:
What does it take to say "I Love You" ? The courage to say these three little words is more often than not, hard to find, especially if you know you'll condemn yourself to a lifetime of alienation – so the thought of confessing to his fiery nemesis has never occurred to Sohma Yuki; it had never been a n option. But it seems like as if the new school year has somewhat restricted these options. New student Ueda Tatsuyoshi seems to be intent on becoming very close friends with the neko; has the time come for nezumi to profess his feelings at last, or lose the one he loves ?
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Natsuki Takaya's "Fruits Basket", but I am the legal owner of this plot and any characters featured in it.
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"Aiiiii !" And Tohru flew down the stairs, after having tripped over a wayward book of Shigure's, straight at a hapless Kyo already at the bottom of the stairs. Futilely, the red-head tried to catch her, but to no avail, and with a loud 'poof' and a cloud of orange smoke, Sohma Kyo, Juunishi cat, indeed was... a cat.
"Aii ! Sumimasen Kyo-kun, sumimasen !" Tohru exclaimed, while bowing to the sweat-dropping orange neko.
"It's ok, Tohru-kun." Kyo mumbled, whilst pawing at his scattered clothing. Behind Tohru, Yuki descended down the stairs, gracefully, as was his customary style.
"Did the baka-neko cause another accident with his hapless loitering around ?" The prince commented; said neko's hackles rose at the insult, and he hissed at his cousin, but before he had the chance to fly at him with claws outstretched, there was another loud 'poof', a cloud of smoke, and a naked, sun-bronzed Kyo was left glaring at Yuki with loathing.
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Yuki couldn't help the momentary speechlessness and sense of wondering admiration that passed, as he stared at Kyo's sun-kissed torso. Indeed the neko had benefited from martial arts training and his overall love of physical exertion; muscles rippled as he inhaled and exhaled in vexation, but he was lean and not bulky.
However, the nezumi realized that he'd been staring longer than custom would dictate as politely appropriate, and quickly hid his admiration behind a mask of disdain.
"Put some clothes on, for goodness' sake." He said, and walked past Kyo without a backward glance, a furiously blushing Tohru also left behind to hand Kyo his clothing.
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Walking to school alone, Yuki missed his noisy cousin's presence. The forest was too quiet, the birds too cheerful, the sun too bright, and Yuki was too alone – how he hated loneliness. Of course he could have waited for them, but after his exit, he had to fulfill that image of condescendence and hatred. He could have excused himself by saying that he had waited for Tohru, but somehow he did not want to lie – it was just weird, but Yuki was sick of lying to the people he cared about, so sick of it. He hated using Tohru as an excuse to be near the one he really wanted to be with, and he hated pretending that he despised Kyo, when in fact it was the complete opposite. It tears him up every time the neko glares at him with such hatred after losing a fight, and the cruel words they exchange with each other.
Yuki stared up at the leafy canopy of trees overhead, where the sun occasionally peeked through.
'When did I realize I loved Kyo ?' He mused then smiled. '...since forever.' And it was true, he had loved Kyo since forever practically, longer than he could remember. Kyo had always entranced him with his difference, his independence, his fire and passion and fighting spirit; Yuki admired his cousin. And he loved him, because... ?
Flashback"Matte, Haru-kun !" An eight-year old Yuki cried as he followed his younger cousin, who was running ahead, "Matte !"
Breathing heavily, Yuki came to a halt, a painful stitch plaguing his side, and left without enough breath to yell for Haru to wait. He felt his lungs pinching, and fearfully thought of the inhaler he left behind at the Honke. 'Onegai, don't let me have an attack, onegai !' He willed desperately, but the pinching did not let up, and he knew he was in trouble.
Suddenly, he felt himself being lifted off the ground and carried towards a complex that looked like a small cottage and garden.
"Hey !" Yuki protested weakly, looking up at his rescuer's face with all the indignation of an eight-year old. He completely forgot what complaint he was about to voice as he laid eyes on the mystery person. He was a child as well, no older than ten, but with bright red hair and unusual, amazing crimson eyes; more than that though, his childish face held a stubborn determination that could not be argued with.
"You need help." He said to a flabbergasted nezumi, and carried him into a small house situated at the side of the garden. It was at this time and Yuki's asthma got much worse and he lost consciousness.
When he woke up, he was lying snug under a blanket, the boy who had brought him here sitting on a chair near the bed.
"You're awake,"he commented and smiled at Yuki, "would you like some food ? Mother said that you need to eat to get your strength back."
He offered the slightly intimidated silver-haired boy a platter of sweets, of which Yuki took one cautiously. He started to nibble on it, when he realized his rescuer was looking at him, or rather the sweets, intently.
"Would you like one ?" He offered shyly. The orange-haired boy grinned, as he reached out for a Western sweet, a choc-chip cookie.
"Thank you !" He smiled at Yuki again, and the latter felt himself blush with the other boy's unrestrained friendliness and gentle aura.
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"Are we friends, Kyo-kun ?" An innocent Yuki asked his companion. In turn, he looked at the pretty silver-haired boy and smiled.
"You mean like play with each other and be there for each other and so on ?"
"Yeah."
Kyo smiled warmly at Yuki.
"Of course !", He said seriously, " I will be there for you whenever you need me – I promise I'll protect you, Yuki-chan."
Yuki looked at him tremulously. "Really ?"
"Of course ! You're the most important person to me, besides Mother !"
"You're the most important person to me, too, Kyo."
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"It was his fault Auntie died," the insidious voice murmured softly in Yuki's ear, "it was the curse of Kyo's existence that drove Auntie to do this."
Little Yuki shook his head vehemently at the accusations made towards his best friend.
"No, no ! He isn't like that ! Kyo would never hurt anyone like that, least of all Auntie !" He yelled at the adult, while covering his ears with his hands. He shook his head furiously and inched away from the umpteenth relative who was trying to convince him that Kyo, kind and protective Kyo, with his innocent smile and good humor, was an agent of death.
But on and on it went, relative after relative, aunts, uncles, cousins, they all came to tell him what he knew it his heart to be false, but they continued coming, and soon little Yuki was tired of hearing the lies, and he began to question his heart … what if Kyo had done something to make Auntie sad ?
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Kyo had stayed in his room for five days and not come out; the servants brought plain rice and left it at his doorstep, but he only touched the stale water they deemed to give the cat. He did not like his relatives – he only cared about Yuki, and perhaps Haru, Hatori and Kagura, but the rest he could not stand, they all whispered when his back wasn't fully turned and then pretended to condole him about his mother's death. They all believed he'd killed her, his own mother, that he'd killed one of the only people who loved and accepted him – it had only been her and Yuki (perhaps Kagura, too).
The thought of Yuki immediately made the semi-immobile Kyo stir. That's what he needed – Yuki. Yuki always made him feel better, he always made him smile, and he believed in him – that there was more to the cat than the terrible curse. Of course, he'd go to Yuki and talk with him, even being near Yuki was good enough; his silver-haired friend was a very calming presence.
So Kyo roused himself and walked out of his room to find the one person left in this world to him, who cared about him.
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There was a gentle knock at the fragile door, and even before Yuki reluctantly opened it, he knew it was Kyo.
Kyo looked like a mess; his hair was sticking out at odd angles, his clothes looked rumpled and slept in, and he had bags under his eyes. Nevertheless, as soon as he saw Yuki, he smiled as he always did.
"Yui-chan, ohayoo !" He said, but hesitated at Yuki's body blocking his entry into the room, "something the matter ?"
The smaller boy seemed startled and slightly evasive as he shook his head, and Kyo felt a strange sense of foreboding.
"Yuki ?" He said hesitantly, and stepped closer to his friend. He knew something was wrong when Yuki shied away from him.
"Nothing, " Yuki mumbled, but would not meet his cousin's eyes, "I'm just kind of busy now…"
"Oh…"
The disappointment in his tone shamed Yuki, but he continued to avoid looking at Kyo and instead focused on the tips of his shoes.
"I'm sorry I haven't been to see you, Kyo." He said as a way of apology, "But things have been kind of crazy since… well, since 'it' happened."
Kyo's unsuspecting answer of "that's ok" made Yuki cringe even further at the knowledge that his friend had needed him in the worst hours of his life, yet still forgave him for having deserted him then.
They stood there in awkward silence for some time, until Kyo noticed the sparseness of the room. Yuki normally already had few belongings, but now only the futon occupied the barren room; a small travel bag leant against the wall, previously unnoticed by the neko.
"Are you going somewhere ?" He asked the other boy. Again, Yuki would not meet his eye and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. When he finally answered, the reply was muffled.
"What ?"
"I'm moving !" Yuki said louder.
The silence that followed was deafening.
"…why?"
"Because my parents don't want me to stay here anymore."
"Why ?"
The question Yuki dreaded, the one that would destroy everything…
"Because they want me away from you, because they think you're dangerous, that you'll hurt me."
Kyo stared at his best friend, who would not look at him. He could not believe that Yuki's parents would do this to them.
"But you, "He argued desperately, " you don't believe them – look at me ! You don't believe them… right ?"
Yet as Yuki looked at him with pained, honest violet eyes, Kyo saw the truth reflected in them, and he knew the bitterest kind of betrayal. Yuki was afraid of him; he thought that Kyo might hurt him, that perhaps he had contribute to his mother's death.
"…"
"Kyo…" Yuki pleaded, "Kyo, I'm –"
"Shut up." Came the hissed reply, and Kyo, who had always smiled at Yuki with friendship and affection in his blood-red eyes, glared at him with hatred.
"I hate you."
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That had been the end of their friendship. Yuki had moved away, had reached out to Ayame to help heal the pain of betraying Kyo's trust, and had suffered under Akito who mentally abused him. Now he was living in Shigure's home, with Kyo. Kyo who had cared for him, who had been his best friend, childhood hero, and perhaps even then, his love, Kyo who now hated him and wished him dead.
Life was more complicated than ever.
Yuki had no idea it would soon bring him to another bend in the road – there's no such thing as smooth sailing in the Sohma family.
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Chapter 2 has been completed – please RR for an update. Thank you.