Moonlight Sonata

By Sashi Mizumoto

A/N: This is the first fanfiction I've actually planned this out all the way to the end. Maybe I should do that for all of my stories...Anyway. Let's see if I can get this to the end, okay? This is actually a rewritten version of a fanfiction I had a while back and on my other account.

Warning: Spoilers for the manga. If you haven't read that far and don't, you know, want to be spoiled, then don't read ahead. I don't want to get blamed because you can't read a simple warning.

Chapter One : The Hesitant Romeo

Hatori turned his head as Ayame and Shigure entered the room. Shigure pushed Hatori aside and with shaking hands, took one of Akito's pale hands and held it. Akito turned her head towards him and smirked. Ayame walked in slowly, his somber nature and black clothes unnerving Hatori a bit. Shigure slid his hand under Akito's head and lifted it. As he went to tenderly kiss her forehead, Akito took her free hand and slapped him in the face. Shigure winced and slowly put her back down.

"Shigure, I know you want to break the curse, correct?" Akito coughed and looked straight at Shigure, ignoring the other two for now. Shigure nodded, holding her hand near his heart.

"But Akito-sama, it won't matter to me if you're not there for me when I am cured! I don't care anymore!" Akito laughed.

"You know that's not true. I can see it in your eyes. Even if you don't realize it yourself, you want to be free. And now, I have a chance to help free you. Perhaps you can be with Ren in the end." Shigure shook his head furiously.

"I don't care about Ren-sama and you know it! I only want to be with you!" Akito glared at him. "Don't lie to me Shigure. I swear to God, don't you DARE lie to me while I'm dying! Not when I'm about to give you the greatest gift of all!" Akito waved him forward, and Shigure bent down. Akito lifted her head until her lips were about to touch his ear. With a cold voice, she whispered, "I am going to give you the greatest gift. I am going to tell you how to break the Sohma curse."

Shigure backed away, almost stumbling over his own feet. Hatori and Ayame both reached out to grab him, but he was able to steady himself. He could feel sweat dripping down his face, and when he went to wipe it away, he was shocked at how clammy his hands were. Hatori and Ayame bent closer towards Akito.

"Why did you say to Shigure?" Hatori looked Akito right in the eye, who trembled a bit. "I just told him the truth."

Akito cringed in pain and gripped her bedsheets tightly between her long, pale fingers. After a few seconds, her deep gasps subsided and her iron grip slowly eased. "The way to break the curse. It's not easy, but you three are more than capable of doing it. To break the curse, you must kill the outsiders."

Ayame brushed a long strand of hair past his shoulder. "And just who are these outsiders?" He had a feeling he knew, but he had to ask and make sure.

"Like you don't know? Who are the two that just never seem to fit into the picture? Who are always in the way? In my way? Who are the ones I hate the most? The two most disgusting creatures to ever walk the earth?" Akito looked at the three before her for a moment before laughing. "Don't mock me with your ignorance. You know perfectly well... that it's Kyou and Tohru. To break the curse, you must kill them. They need to die. Are you willing to pay that price?" With sudden strength, Akito twitched violently. As Shigure grabbed her in his arms, he heard a strangled whisper escape from her lips.

"Shigure, I hate you." Just as quickly as it began, she collapsed into his arms. He moved her so that he would be able to kiss her forehead gently. Tears rolled down his cheeks and fell onto her face. He hugged her tightly, and just sat there, crying. Ayame and Hatori looked away, and they both knew that Akito's life had ended in front of them.

For awhile, Shigure just stared at Akito's limp body. Before too long though, Hatori moved her aside and Ayame rested his head on Shigure's shoulder. Hatori sat down in front of the two before sighing.

"So, we must agree not to speak of this to anyone else. At the moment, we cannot afford to let the rest of the jyuunishi know of this. Agreed?" Ayame nodded right away, but Shigure just looked down at his hands for a moment. Hatori asked him again. "Agreed, Shigure?"

Shigure slowly looked up and nodded, though hesitation flashed through his eyes. "Agreed. Agreed..."

Tohru was shaking like a leaf in both excitement and fear. "I promise, I'll try my best to perform successfully! Please take good care of me everyone!" She bowed multiple times and Arisa giggled. "That's so cute. Tohru, you don't have to worry so much! You'll be an adorable Juliet!"

Hana nodded in agreement. "Although I do wonder how well she will be able to pull off all of the romantic scenes and the death..." Arisa let out a hearty laugh. "We might have to rewrite this too! Remember last year's performance of Cinderella? Man, that was a lot of fun..."

"You were such an amazing prince Uo-chan!" Tohru's eyes sparkled. "You looked so excited up there on stage! And Hana-chan, you were a beautiful Cinderella-san! You put an amazing amount of passion into the role!" Hana laughed darkly. "Why thank you Tohru-chan, I quite agree with you..." Arisa screamed. "You were preoccupied with food throughout the entire play! And you don't have to call her Cinderella-san!"

"You know, speaking of Romeo and Juliet, who is Romeo?"

"Ah, Yuki-kun!" Tohru turned and saw Yuki standing beside her. He smiled warmly at her and patted her on the top of her head affectionately. "I can't believe you have to play Tybalt-san. Whoever plays Romeo-san is going to have to kill you!" Tohru started to freak out and spasm. "But why did they have to kill each other? Couldn't Romeo-san have just not killed him?"

Yuki looked at her with his smile still planted on his feminine face. "But Honda-kun, if Romeo hadn't killed Tybalt, the play might not have ended the way it did. So, sad as it may be, he has to die. But back to my question. Who is playing Romeo? And like Uotani-san said, you don't need to add honorifics for fictional characters..."

Tohru looked at Arisa and Saki, who both shrugged. Tohru turned back to Yuki and said cheerfully, "I have no idea!" Yuki sighed. "Perhaps I should go ask Minami-san. She is the head of the drama department this year, isn't she?" Saki nodded. "I must wonder what possessed her to do this though." She turned to Tohru and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Tohru-chan, you must tell me if she does anything to bother you, alright?" Tohru nodded and sighed. 'I can't bother Hana-chan with any of my problems!'

"Honda-kun, it's time to go home. Are you ready to leave?" Tohru snapped out of her thoughts and smiled brightly at him. "Of course I am! But, where's Kyou-kun?" Arisa smirked. "Now that I think about it, that stupid orangetop hasn't been around for most of the day! I could've sworn I saw him this morning! Did he go home early? Isn't there a saying about how idiots never catch colds?" Tohru looked at Yuki. "Yuki-kun, do you mind if I look for Kyou-kun first before we leave?" Yuki smiled. "Of course. I'll wait here with Uotani-san and Hanajima-san until you get back." Tohru bowed before rushing out of the classroom.

"Ah, Kyou-kun, I was right! I knew you'd be up here!" Kyou turned and saw Tohru shut the door behind her. As a strong burst of wind blew by, and Tohru's hair flew past her shoulders, Kyou stood up and walked around on the rooftop. Tohru decided to try to make some casual conversation with him to relax him a bit.

"So Kyou-kun, what role did you get in the play?" Kyou stopped in his tracks and could feel little beads of sweat trickling down the back of his neck. He turned to look at Tohru and he stuck an awkward smile onto his face. "I'm not exactly sure yet, I haven't checked. I'll tell you when I know though, I promise. It's probably something stupid like a dancer or something."

'I can't tell her I'm playing Romeo! How stupid would that be? I don't want to be Romeo! I don't want to kiss some stupid girl!' Sadly for Kyou, he still didn't know Tohru was to play Juliet, or else he might have been a bit more accepting of the role.

"Well, you should go find out soon! The first play practice is next week!" Kyou moaned. He knew he had to think of ways to get out of the practices. Maybe he could visit Kagura and she could break his leg for him! Or maybe Yuki could do it. It would be easier to see him, and Yuki would be very willing to do it.

The school bell rung and Tohru gasped. "Ah! Kyou-kun, we should get back to class!" Tohru ran to the door and held it open for Kyou. "After you Kyou-kun!" Kyou smiled and patted her softly on the head as he moved her hand off the door handle. "Stupid. I should be holding the door open for you." She blushed in embarrassment and thanked him profusely before walking down the stairs to her next class.

Tohru placed the last dish on the table and smiled in self-satisfaction. "Kyou-kun, Yuki-kun, Shigure-san! Dinner is ready!" She sat down as she listened to the feet on the stairs as they flew down them. Shigure was first, and seated himself across from Tohru, while Yuki and Kyou sat on either side of her. Shigure took a deep sniff of the cooked fish and smiled at Tohru.

"Tohru-kun, this smells delicious! You'll make the perfect little housewife!" Tohru began to protest while Yuki and Kyou sent death glares toward Shigure. However, all he did was give a little giggle and play with his chopsticks.

"So Yuki-kun, I heard you guys were doing a play at school!" Yuki nodded and chewed on his fish. Tohru decided to help him and tell Shigure about it. Tohru's bright voice seemed to echo off the walls.

"We're performing Romeo and Juliet! I'm playing Juliet! I'm nervous that I won't be able to do well... And Yuki-kun is playing Tybalt!" Shigure perked up. "And who is playing dear Romeo?" Tohru shook her head. "I'm not sure yet. Yuki-kun, do you know?" Yuki glanced at Kyou with a smirk. Kyou, seeing Yuki's glance, finalized that Yuki must have found out that he was playing Romeo. Kyou started to stand so he could fight Yuki. However, it was too late.

"Kyou's playing Romeo."

Kyou stopped in his tracks and blushed a bright red. Shigure switched from Tohru to Kyou in glee, and Tohru looked at him with a pink blush and a shocked expression. For a few moments they all stayed like this. Kyou was the first to move by breaking away from the group and running out of the house. Tohru stood and was about to give chase, but Yuki grabbed her wrist gently. He smiled up at her from the floor and shook his head. "Leave him be for a little bit. Don't worry."

Kyou looked up at the sky from the rooftop. He let out an angry groan.

"That stupid dog. Why does he have to ruin everything for me?" As he stood up and started punching the air to clam himself down, he could hear faint voices below. He stopped moving and stealthily lowered himself so that he was lying on the roof with his stomach against the shingles. He slid himself down to the edge and was surprised to see Hatori and Ayame outside. Hatori's car was parked under the trees.

'That's odd. I didn't even hear them pull up. What are they doing here? Well, whatever. I'm not going to deal with them today. I'm gonna tell them to go home already!' Just as Kyou was about to stand and tell them to leave, he heard his name come from Hatori's mouth.

"Ayame, you know we have to leave. We can't let Kyou-kun or Honda-kun know about this yet." Ayame shook his head furiously in protest. "Ha-kun, it's not right to keep this sort of thing from them! I think Kyou-kun and Tohru-kun would want to know that they could lift the curse!" Kyou's hands became clammy and he wiped his furrowed brow slowly. 'What are they talking about? What does the cure have to do with me and Tohru-kun?'

"Well, I doubt Kyou-kun would be happy to know that he and Honda-kun would have to die. And honestly, I doubt he would do it; mainly for Honda-kun. It's obvious that he cares deeply for her, and I bet you he would see it as a waste of her life if she died for us, even if she didn't see it that way."

'I need to leave. I need to clear my head and figure out what to do about this. I know I can't let Tohru-kun die. But what about me...? I... I don't know...' Kyou felt anger swelling up within him and he stood up. He nimbly jumped from the side of the roof and landed in the tree branches. He slowly slid down the tree trunk before taking off for the nearest bus station. Hatori looked towards the tree that Kyou had landed in and watched the rustling leaves. He turned back to Ayame.

"Ayame-kun, someone heard us. I suggest you talk to Shigure tomorrow. I would go, but I have unfinished business to attend to." Ayame nodded. Hatori cleared his throat. "We need to finish this."

Tohru brushed her hair and looked outside at the moon. She let out a heavy sigh before placing the brush beside her. She stood and rested her arms on the window pane. 'Kyou-kun, where are you? You didn't finish your dinner... I hope you're not too mad at Yuki-kun. He was just answering my question, I doubt he meant to hurt you! Please come down from the roof soon...'
Little did Tohru know that Kyou was no longer relaxing on the rooftop. No, now he was on a bus. A quiet bus with a humming engine and a whistling bus driver. He leaned his forehead against the cold window and watched the scenery. He had decided to go to the Sohma hot spring, to cool off.

As the bus stopped and he got off, he could see the glistening lake and he couldn't help but relax a bit. His mind was rolling with his problems, but as he showed the guard at the entrance his student I.D. and walked to the lake, he threw himself into the water and dunked himself below the surface. He resurfaced rather quickly and shook his head before peeling off his clinging t-shirt. He ran a hand through his soaked hair and sighed.

"What am I going to do?"

End of Chapter One: The Hesitant Romeo

A/N: So, parts of this chapter might not make sense to you if you aren't somewhat up to date with the current release of the Furuba manga in Japan. For some good scanlations, go to But anyway, I'm trying to keep it somewhat mysterious as much as I can. The story starts rolling a bit more quickly in the next few chapters though, so make sure to stay on your toes!


A Note about the Honorifics: Now, if you're truly interested about the Japanese honorifics and how they are used, I'm sure you can find information about it easily on the Internet. However, I will touch on the lack of honorifics used on some character's names. (For example, Akito when talking with Shigure). Usually, a lack of honorifics signifies a deep relationship between the people, or that they have known each other for an extremely long amount of time. Usually, it is rude to not use honorifics in public.