Operation: Revive The Princess
Graduation
(A/N: Well, this is my first story I've published on here, and it's been a while since I've actually written a Fruits Basket story, so I apologize ahead of time if some [or all of the characters are out of character, but I tried very hard. Well, I hope you enjoy this first chapter of the story!)
"Graduation is still quite a ways off, huh? Man, it sucks," a teenage girl complained, her dyed blonde hair falling carelessly past her shoulders, and tilted herself backward by pushing her feet against the desk in front of her. Uotani Arisa, seventeen-years-old, third year student, former delinquent, and best friends with one of the sweetest girls in the world. Her best friend's name? Honda Tohru.
Honda Tohru; brunette whose hair reached near her waist in length, deep (and kind) brown eyes, seventeen-years-old, also a third year student, and a resident of a house with three men. Two of those men were Honda Tohru's age and in the same class even. Unusual pair they were; cousins, despised each other with a fiery passion, odd colored hair and eyes, and very protective of the woman of their household. Extremely protective. Though, so were Honda's Tohru's two best friends: Uotani Arisa and Hanajima Saki.
Hanajima Saki was an unusual girl to say the least; Saki could read people's emotions and the like through waves, and due to incidents in the past involving this ability, she always wore black when out of her uniform and forever kept her nails painted black. Monotonous at times, calm, long and black (often braided) hair, matching eyes, seventeen-years old, a third year student at Kaibara High School, and quite protective of Honda Tohru. A painfully pleasant topic to Hanajima Saki. Happy because Saki and Tohru were the best of friends, but painful because the two girls scarcely hung out with each other lately. It was obvious that it was the Sohmas behind that; they were the ones Honda Tohru hung out with more than frequently. Especially Sohma Kyo.
Sohma Kyo; short orange hair and orange eyes, seventeen-years old, third year student, and a house mate of Honda Tohru's. Perhaps the most protective of the brunette of anybody alive. Violent (and short) temper which caused him to yell frequently. He was better at controlling it now, much better. Though that didn't mean he never said angered and slightly mean things still. Kyo was merely better at his volume control, and slightly better at keeping his temper at bay. One could say that that fact was partly due to Honda Tohru, and they would be correct in that statement. It was obvious that it was Tohru's influence on Kyo that melted away the temper, but Sohma Kyo also had an effect upon Tohru as well.
It was obvious to even an idiot that Sohma Kyo and Honda Tohru were in love. Everyone knew it with the exception of a few people, who were just morons. Not including the couple themselves, they were just dense. Really, really dense. But being dense did not necessarily make someone a moron as such as the case with Kyo and Tohru.
Anyway, the two, along with Sohma "Prince" Yuki (most popular boy in school, silvery gray chin length hair with silvery eyes, student body president, always arguing with his cousin Sohma Kyo) and Sohma Shigure (black haired and blackish eyed twenty-eight-year-old novelist who was Kyo, Yuki, and Tohru's guardian) lived under the same roof. Due to the clashing personalities of the Sohma (and Honda) household, Kyo and Tohru wouldn't be allowed to do certain things as a couple, mostly because of the perverted remarks that Shigure would make, much less confess their overwhelming feelings to each other. It was also their situations and mental condition that prevent either from admitting their feelings to both each other and themselves. That brings us to Tohru's reply to Uotani's Arisa's complaint.
Honda Tohru's soothingly bright smile faltered, her brown eyes drooped; her facial features took on an overall serious, almost longingly sad look. That, though, was quickly covered up by another one of Tohru's smiles. Only those well versed in Honda Tohru's behavior would catch the upset look and know she was troubled. And, of course, this caused concern to flare up in her friends, which was intensified by Tohru's verbal response.
"That's right…we'll be graduating this year!" Tohru exclaimed, sounding thrilled, though her eyes showed otherwise. Now they figured out Tohru's problem was tied with graduation.
Across the room, unable to hear the discussion only taking place by Arisa and Tohru, was Sohma Kyo sitting comfortably as could be on the cold, hard desk that was his own. His orange eyes were dull as Kyo stared off into space, lost in his thoughts. Eventually his mind too wondered to graduation; something that was usually a merry, exciting event was dark and haunting to Sohma Kyo. He did not want to leave. He especially didn't want to leave her. The brunette standing across the room from him, chattering away in her usual optimistic way. Only, there was something slightly off, though, and, at this point, Kyo couldn't be exactly sure what or why that was. What he did know was that it wasn't a good thing.
Kyo then jumped off his desk, and walked over to the group of girls. Announcing his presence, Kyo lightly conked Tohru o the head with a clenched fist. Tohru turned around, a hand placed on her head where Kyo had hit her, and started laughing. Kyo looked down at Tohru, smiling serenely at her with a raised and furrowed eyebrow; his expression questioning Tohru's sanity. Both of them tried not to think about the fate rushing toward them like a speeding train. Instead, they tried to focus on the time they could spend together before that train slammed into them.
Sohma Kyo made a bet with Akito soon after arriving from his four-month trip to the mountains. Shouting and threats past and soon Akito offered a deal; if Kyo could beat Yuki in a fight by the time he graduated high school, he would no longer be called a monster and possibly let the cat join the Zodiac, but if he couldn't, Kyo would be confined in the room set aside for those cursed by the cat for the rest of his life. As if he would win, and Kyo knew it. There was another reason he wanted to beat Yuki so bad, but he refused to let his mind wander to that.
The door to the classroom clattered open, and a foot stepped forward toward the inside of the classroom. The student paused. Sohma Yuki took a moment to observe the cluster of friends by the windows, talking and laughing away. A small smile crossed Yuki's face as he stepped all the way into the classroom, closing the door behind him. He made his way over to the group and joined in on the conversation until class, unfortunately, started.
"Shigure-san! We're home!" Tohru called out from the doorway as she carefully removed her shoes from her feet.
"Weeelllcome hooooome!" Sohma Shigure cried, leaping toward the entrance, more specifically, toward Tohru, before Kyo whacked his cousin on the head.
"Don't you ever stop?" Kyo asked with annoyed exasperation.
Yuki sighed and walked off to his room, he had gotten used to this overly energetic greeting from his older cousin. The only reason why Kyo didn't was because Shigure always seemed to aim his attacks at Tohru, and he always protected Tohru, so prevented Shigure from hugging Tohru, which also prevented him from activating his curse, though it didn't really matter since Tohru knew about the curse. Kyo then walked off after his job was done, and left a concerned Tohru to look after a bruised adult. Everything was perfectly normal.
Tohru quickly changed out of her dark blue uniform, and hurried downstairs. Tohru got down with her homework, so she could go straight to the kitchen once she was done with it, or when dinner time arose. As the female of the household struggled with her schoolwork, thoughts crept into her head. Thoughts about school, Kyo, friends, Kyo, graduation, and…Kyo's confinement. After Kyo had graduated high school, he would be locked in one dark, secluded room for the rest of his life. The rest of his life he would never see anyone other than his captor until he died. This meant that Tohru wouldn't be able to see him again. Ever.
Those thoughts swam around in Tohru's mind, and tears began to fall. She let go of her pencil that had long since stopped writing, and tried to furiously wipe away her tears. She failed miserably. She kept on crying. It was just so sad to think about; Kyo leaving, unable to talk to or see again, to not be able to be near him, to hear his laugh, to see him smile, for all that to vanish and never return. It was tearing her apart it was so sad. Yet, she couldn't do anything to stop it, she…
"Tohru," a voice said, sounding from directly behind Tohru.
"Whaaa!" Tohru jumped. Slowly, her head revolved to glance behind her to notice a slightly startled Sohma Kyo. After blinking a couple of times, Kyo's tense body relaxed, and he sat down next to Tohru with a concerned look on his face. Tohru stared at him in awe as Kyo reached out a hand to wipe some of Tohru's lagging tears away.
"What's wrong?" Kyo asked, finally voicing his concern.
"Ah, n-n-nothing! Nothing's wrong!" Tohru denied, as she always did. She didn't want to make anybody worry, especially Kyo.
"Heh, that's not what your face is saying," Kyo replied, unable to help the corner of his mouth twitch into a small smile. Tohru stuttered out attempts of a response, but that was rendered impossible due to the lack of knowing what to say. Kyo chuckled; Tohru was so cute babbling like an idiot like that. Kyo caught himself, and scolded himself for thinking that. He refused to think like that.
Once Tohru had calmed down enough, she abruptly jumped to her feet, a determined smile on her face. "What would you like for dinner, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked, smiling down at her orange haired house mate, who was still smiling pleasantly at the brunette despite the thoughts running through his mind.
"Shougayaki," another voice cut in. Kyo and Tohru paused at the sound of the duller, more apathetic voice resound through the room. Slowly, they turned to face two more people in the doorway. The one who had spoken was a boy only a year younger than the surprised couple, and his hair went from white on the top to black at his roots that accompanied his cool brown eyes. Beside him was a much shorter boy, around the same age as the other, with wild blonde hair and large brown eyes, and was bouncing slightly in place. Sohma Hatsuharu and Sohma Momiji were two more cousins of Sohma Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure.
"Hatsuharu-san? Momiji-kun?" Tohru asked with a puzzled look on her face. Kyo merely stared at the unexpected guests.
"Hey," Hatsuharu said in greeting, walking further into the house.
"Tohru!" Momiji squealed with excitement, rushing toward the confused brunette. Tohru smiled as she watched the small teenager hop over to her, and the two started chatting a high speeds, at least Momiji was anyway.
"Haru," a voice said, announcing another presence. The addressed boy turned to see Yuki step off the stairs, and both of them entered the living room. "What are you doing here?"
"Ah," began Hatsuharu. "Well, Sensei was complaining about how he hadn't been receiving any visitors lately, so he invited us over."
"I see," Yuki replied in understanding, and the two then joined the other three at the table.
"Ah! I see Haa-kun and Momichi are here now," commented Shigure cheerfully as he entered the room a while after Momiji and Hatsuharu had arrived.
"Shii-chan!" Momiji called out from his spot beside Tohru, who was in between him and Kyo.
"Sensei," Haru greeted in his calm voice. Shigure smiled at them both in his usual goofy manner.
"So what's for dinner, Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked as he joined the others. Tohru's eyes widened and abruptly rose to her feet again, realizing she had completely forgotten about dinner.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I completely forgot. I'll get started right away!" Tohru declared in a panic, now forgetting to answer Shigure's question. Tohru ran off while Yuki, Momiji, and Shigure chuckled.
"Ah, Tohru-kun, Tohru-kun, what would we do without you?" Shigure asked, shaking his head from side to side, signs of his laughter still clear in his voice.
"We would be drowning in self-pity," Haru replied casually, earning himself a couple of odd stares.
A while later, Tohru came back with the deliciously prepared shougayaki, which Haru was pleased about since it was his request that had been fulfilled. Pleasant conversation passed at the table during and after the meal. Eventually the guests went home, and he others went off to do their own thing. Kyo went up to the roof, Yuki retreated back into his room, Shigure left for his study to do who knows what, and Tohru followed after Kyo. Tohru found Kyo lying back with his hands underneath his head, staring up at the sky. Kyo noticed Tohru on the ladder leading up to the roof, and smiled as Tohru approached him further.
"Hey," Kyo greeted casually as Tohru made her way over to him. Tohru gave him her regular cheerful smile that seemed a tiny more cheerful than normal, often how it was when the two were alone.
"Hello, Kyo-kun," Tohru replied with her voice the same tone as her smile.
"What're you doing up here?" Kyo asked while pushing himself into a sitting position so he could look at Tohru's beaming face properly.
"I was just curious as to how you were doing, Kyo-kun," Tohru answered in her usual polite manner.
"Heh. I don't think my mood's really changed since dinner, considering it was only a few minutes ago," Kyo replied with a chuckle. Tohru blushed a light pink, and slightly turned her head away.
"S-sorry," Tohru mumbled.
"No need to apologize, Tohru," Kyo cooed, causing Tohru to look back at Kyo's gently smiling face. Tohru smiled, and it was Kyo's turn to blush.
"Okay," Tohru replied scooting ever more closely to the boy on the roof. The pair then stared at the orange sunset sinking beneath the horizon.
"Say, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked in a near whisper when the first stars started sprinkling the sky.
"Mm?"
"Are you…excited about graduation?" she asked, voice quieting even further. Tohru already knew the answer, but she just had to ask.
"Kyo's eyes narrowed, not at Tohru, but at the thought of graduation. After Kyo graduated, he would be locked away, unable to see Tohru's smiling face for the rest of his miserable, cursed life. Of course, he assumed Tohru had no idea of his confinement, which, incidentally, she actually did, so Kyo sighed and laid back down on the roof, staring up at the darkening sky.
"Not really," he answered apathetically. Tohru made a small noise of understanding, and pulled her legs closer to her body and looked up at the peaceful night sky freckled with shining stars. Kyo blinked. Did Tohru just agree with him? It may have been subtle, but it definitely happened. Wouldn't Tohru be excited about graduating and fulfilling her last promise to her mother? Kyo then just assumed Tohru was anxious about the future, her life after high school.
That was all true, but Tohru was more concerned about Kyo and what lay in store for him. It was a painful future, all right, and the both of them knew it. They also knew that there was nothing they could do about it no matter how hard they tried, but Tohru was unwilling to give up. Kyo had already resigned himself to his fate, but what he really cared about was spending as much time together with Tohru as possible. After all, no matter how many times he tried to deny it and push it to the back of his mind, he loved her more than anything else, even life itself, which wasn't all that hard, considering how bad his life was in general. Still, he loved Tohru, and that was all that mattered.
"Tohru," Kyo started, turning on his side to look at the brunette beside him again. Tohru turned to look at him with innocent curiosity. "Listen, there's something I need to tell-"
Kyo was cut off as he watched Tohru begin to slide down the roof. In his internal panic, Kyo reached out and grabbed Tohru's arm to prevent her from completely slipping off the roof. Kyo sighed in relief. Kyo yanked Tohru up, but apparently too much strength because Tohru fell forward toward Kyo and landed on him. There was a cloud of orange smoke. When it dissipated, what could be seen was Tohru lying on top of a squished orange cat.
"Damn curse," the cat muttered in irritation. Tohru immediately got off the cat, and started apologizing at a thousand miles per second. The cat, Kyo, sighed and told Tohru to calm down, which she eventually did. So, now the two sat with Kyo on Tohru's lap staring at the sky.
"So, Kyo-kun, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Tohru asked, smiling down at Kyo. Kyo didn't meet her gaze.
"Never mind. It's nothing important," Kyo grumbled. On the contrary, what he wanted to say was important, but the moment was ruined. Besides, he knew there would be another opportunity to tell her anyway.
