Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and all its characters are properties of Takaya Natsuki and Hana to Yume comics. I promise (and swear upon most everything holy) that I came up with this concept myself, and didn't exert any effort in stealing the idea from anyone else--any similarities are purely coincidental. And now that that's cleared up...

Regret Me Not

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Prologue.

                He watched her through impassive eyes that had taken years to perfect, something he whimsically thought of as 'earning' when the mood struck him.

                "Yuki-kun?"

                There, in that unassuming voice, was the single reason for his anguish, although sweet. The young man's walls of perfection crumbled a bit in silent response; and he blinked before the cracks in his defenses would let themselves show. "Honda-san?"

                Tohru smiled sunnily, her face smudged with dirt. "Tohru-san, remember? No formalities here!"

                "How could I forget," he said simply, a half-smile working its way onto a face equally smeared in grime. "Is there anything wrong, Tohru-san?"

                "Nothing the second-in-command can't handle," she said with a smile that, he thought, couldn't get much brighter. "Just wondering what was on your mind, General!" With that, she clapped her gloved hands and shook off the dry, crumbling pieces of mud. "Thinking of our next mission, maybe?"

                Somehow, the nickname for his little garden patch had spread to the two caretakers of the 'secret base', until everything involved had a corny code name. It had happened over time, as Yuki and Tohru  had grown closer and deeper in friendship. She really was good for him, the way she slowly extracted him from his shell...sometimes even threw off his self-repose. Not like she had to drag him away from himself kicking and screaming, however. Inwardly, he sighed. 'Two years of extraction and I still hide how I feel...'

                "It is the sole decision of the General himself that we should halt all missions for today..." Her blue eyes met his violet, devotedly awaiting his word. That was Tohru for you--hopelessly entranced by those she cares for most, even if the subject matter was a joke. Yuki crossed his arms over his shirt in (what he hoped was) a very serious manner and nodded to himself intently, closing his eyes in deep thought.

                "Awaiting your command, sir!" she chirped. Violet then sought out the blue as the words formulated in his mind.

                His heart stopped them at the throat.

                I love you. The sentence had been aching at the tip of his tongue to jump out and take the plunge, and he had left it hanging for over a year now. And every day, he found at least one moment that made him more tempted than ever to just be honest with her.

                Today it was the purity of her eyes, the eagerness to hear whatever he had to say. Her loving attentiveness. It was a reminder to him of how special Tohru really was, how selfless. She was everything he admired, and now she embodied everything he loved. He took a deep breath.

                "...and we should instead tread lightly to the headquarters, where the ice-cold lemonade can be found!" With a bubbly laugh, the brown-haired young woman stood up from her kneeling position near the carrot row and gave Yuki a smart salute, her forehead crinkled in seriousness.

                "Yes sir! Ready when you are, sir!" The sight of her, lightly covered in dirt and slightly frowning in concentration pulled a grin out of Yuki, then a soft laughter. Soon afterwards, Tohru's giggles resurfaced as well.

                "Shall we go then, second-in-command," he smiled softly. Somehow she knew that particular smile was reserved for her, and she returned it with a special one for him. The color in her cheeks deepened a little bit at the thought of them sharing something, even though it was small, and she nodded eagerly in response.

                "Let's go!"

*****   

                Strange for that memory to pop up now of all times, Yuki thought numbly.

                "Yuki-kun?"

                There was her voice again, calling to him--but this time, with a pained tone to it. She had always been like that, resonating to others' pain. Tohru met his blank stare with her eyes. He had never been able to resist looking at her, looking into her.

                Now he no longer had that right, and he reminded himself of it as he turned away and shut her out. Forever.

                "Honda-san." Her eyes filled with tears, and because of years-long practice, she smiled instead of crying. Would she ever see beyond those walls again? "I just wanted to say...congratulations."

                "Thank you," she stammered softly, unnable to think of any other response. Yuki smiled back, mirroring her painful smile as he held up her left hand gently and kissed it. He tried not to focus on the ring that adorned her finger, tried not to lose his composure, to enclose her small hand with his own and drown out the significance of the gold band.

                He succeeded, but the victory was equally bitter.

                "Beautiful ring," he mused thoughtlessly. She nodded absently.

                "That baka neko picked it out himself, did he?"

                "Yeah." He lowered her hand then, and bowed formally. The words that had meant to come out as a last resort failed him; as they retreated back into his throat for the first time in five years he knew they would haunt him. If he had told her how he felt earlier...if he hadn't been so damned selfish...

                "Anyhow, I've got to go--University's a bit far of a walk and Shigure has the car today. I just wanted to congratulate you before I left." He gripped the briefcase handle tightly and smiled even wider.

                "Thank you," she managed to say again. He finally let go of her hand.

                And he walked away.

*****

End Prologue.

This is my very first Fruits Basket fanfic...I'm pretty sure you can tell. n_n;; I know it seems like this short piece can stand on its own (and I guess it could), but I promise that more is coming! Feedback is eternally welcome, naturally. Thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it and check back for more n_n

-Kris (Limey)