Kyo woke up in bed to the sound of pinging rain. He pulled the covers off. He wore a sweater and loose blue jeans. Unable to sleep he looked out his window. It was midnight, December 24th. Christmas Eve. Winter was creeping in, but not fast enough to freeze the late downpour. He sighed. He really wished it would snow. Looking further on the property he noticed a figure outside. She was cringing against the rain, her dark hair flying around her like a tiny whirl-wind. She wore blue pants and a white T-shirt. But she stayed, tight-lipped, where she was. Normally he would have been creeped out. He didn't even know her. But instead he felt a trickle of cold like icy water run down his spine. He suddenly understood why she was here. The realization made him frown. As if to answer his suspicions the door opened and Tohuru stepped in. She looked at the bed, paused and spotted Kyo by the window, crossing his arms.
Honda caught her breath, leaning her hands on her knees, her face pale. She dropped her gaze to the floor. "Fan girl. W-wants t-to talk to-o you."
Kyo gaped. That was too far. "Me? What about the others? What about Yuki or Shigure or that stupid cow." Not that the stupid cow lived here. If she had wanted to see the stupid cow the weird creepy girl would creep Hatori out on his own property, not theirs.
"Eh…er…uh.." She struggled.
Kyo put a hand up, his expression softening. He ruffled her hair. "That's fine."
Honda bent her head turning pink.
He still didn't like it. Honda had told him about a woman named Takaya Natsuki that wrote a series that apparently pinned down every embarrassing moment of his life. It was called Fruits Basket, no less, where Honda was the main character.
"You sure it's me? Not anybody else?"
"S-she wants to talk to you." Honda said gravely. She took a deep breath, and her eyes turned glassy. Was information had been copied onto her from Takaya, Kyo wondered. "She says she came from the other world and read the book. She wrote herself into it."
Kyo's frown deepened. He pressed his hand on the window, looking below. The glass was perceptively cold, yet she was lingering outside in it stubbornly.
"I'll wait here until you get back." Honda announced, scrambling into his bed, she curled up under the covers. He nodded. He put on a coat. Touching Honda's cheek as he passed, he went out.
When the girl saw him she froze. Her eyes touched his face familiarly, warming up with gentle joy. She lifted her arms in a hug-shape then stopped, two red spots blooming on her cheeks. Then she clenched her hands to fists leaning forward.
"K-kyo!"
"Yes?" Kyo said annoyed.
She gapped at him and her face flared up again before the wind paled her skin.
Kyo tried not to be irritated. Once you meet one fan girl you've met them all. They were so pitiful they had a habit of making him drop his guard.
"What do you want?"
"Well I just wanted to say thank you." She smiled sheepishly. "You're probably going to think I'm silly."
Kyo waited.
"I feel as if I'm a better person because I've read you. I've grown up faster." She raised her fist level with her head. "I have a lot of good memories as a kid reading them. You were my favorite. Honda was just too sweet to like best. I had a major crush on you, too."
She stopped and her smile faded. "I just wanted to meet you because you've had such a big impact on me. And I know how hard things are for you. It'll get better, promise."
She threw her hands wide. "So so many good things are going to happen to you. Honda falls in love with you. You move away. You aren't the cat. You have kids. The curse breaks. You'll just have to wait."
Her words hit him like a hammer and he flinched. Was she mocking him? Tohuru. Not a monster any more. She was worse than Yuki. Repressed anger bunched up in him getting ready to spring as he opened his mouth. Twenty sentences sprang to mind but he didn't get the chance to launch one. Her face inflamed she darted forward and hugged him tight, proud tears spilling off her. His breath caught in his throat, he was stunned.
"I'm not lying." She mumbled against his shirt. "I just want you to be happy. I want you to be happy. Cause you're such a good person."
That silly girl. That's what she was here for, Kyo realized. She's come all this way to cheer me up.
Kyo's body tensed against her cold skin, then slackened. Slowly he reached his arms around her shoulders, the beads jangling on his arm, and tightened them. He closed his eyes, tucking her head under his chin. It was a tight hug. For a heart-beat they stood there like that. When still nothing had happened he looked at his human hands over her head in awe.
"Thank you." He whispered.
She nodded against him. "I also wanted to give you this."
She slowly disappeared. And soon he stood alone, his frozen hands holding the space where the girl had been seconds ago. Kyo let a tight exhale spill out, looking upward. The air was extremely cold. But he saw hundreds of flakes now snow falling out of the black sky.
"Huh, winter caught up did it?" He wondered aloud, catching a snow flake on his finger. He wiped a tear off his cheek.