DISCLAIMER: Characters belong to Natsuki Takaya-sama, author and creator of
Fruits Basket. I only came up with the plot and a few other twists to make this fanfic more interesting and entertaining. Furthermore, I OWN NOTHING!WARNING: Characters' appearances are based on the Anime. But there may be some content, such as histories and situations, that are from the Manga and either are not included or changed in the Anime version.
SPOILER ALERT: This story may contain spoilers! If you're okay with that, read on. If you're not, then hitch your tail out of here. You have been notified!
P L O T: It's been five months since Tohru saw and accepted Kyou's true form{fic is placed after the last episode of the anime}. However, it seems that Yuki has finally broke – his heart being punctured by Tohru and Kyou coming closer together, his despondency, and Akito's treacherous treatment toward him as a child; it has all merged together, creating a Yuki that was never meant to be. A Yuki that always had a hidden darkness inside him that was never released until now, and could only be described as evil and selfish, wanting Tohru for himself. Doing anything to disrupt Kyou. Or at least wanting to ruin any connection Tohru and Kyou have.
It also seems that Kyou has another secret – a deeper, darker secret he is concealing from Tohru. Bigger than the Sohma curse. Bigger than his true form. Bigger than any other secret he could possibly withhold. A secret that Yuki knows about, and threatens to reveal to Tohru. A secret that is slowly unraveling . . . despite Kyou's attempts at stopping it. He is hopelessly falling in love with her, and he fears that if she ever were to find out his true identity, that she would never forgive him. Never speak to him again. And run away in fear, never to return. Kyou struggles with this, and not knowing whether or not she has feelings for him as well.
Could their relationship possibly blossom? Or will Yuki ruin Kyou's only chance at salvation? It only awaits in More Than This.
With all that finally out of the way, Enjoy. =-)
"Tohru?" He looked at her with those red eyes of his. The ones that were burning. Longing. Blazing. The smallest smile floated upon his face at seeing her.
She gently sat the clean plate aside, sideways, where it was supposed to go in the cabinet. All the dishes were done now, and her never-ending "Cha-la-la-la!~" had stopped. She neatly folded the rag she had used to dry them, placing it on the counter beside the sink. Then, she turned toward him, that goofy smile gracing her lips as soon as her sapphire eyes met his. "What is it, Kyou-kun?" She asked, truly cheerful, his name's suffix bouncing slightly.
He stood in the doorway, his arm leaning coolly against the side while the rest of him was somewhat relaxed but firm. That smile vanished quickly. It wouldn't be there for a while. He locked eyes, and trying to be confident, he said, "Tohru, I . . . I have something I need to tell you."
She blinked a few times before registering his words. Her face was one of curiosity as the smile faded from her lips. "What do you mean?"
"I've been hiding something from you." His eyes shifted, settling on the right corner of the kitchen. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his beige cargo pants. Shame filled him. "Something . . . you should know."
Tohru took a step forward, wanting to comfort Kyou, but uncertain whether to or not. Her hands clenched at her chest, her face becoming pale with worry. Panicked thoughts swirled in her head. She waited for him to continue.
Kyou glimpsed at her, and nearly cringed at the sight of her anxiety. Maybe he shouldn't tell her. But I have to, He urged himself. This is my chance. If I don't now, I may never be able to. He looked down at the ground and clenched his now unsheathed fists. Say it!
"Tohru, I-I'm -"
But he never got a chance to.
His words were cut short by an angry Kagura, who was suddenly charging at Kyou shouting "BAAAAAAKKAAAA!" loudly.
Damn.
A fist soon met his cheek painfully and he flew across the room, smashing, yet again, into the front sliding door of Shigure's house. He flew past Shigure who had just arrived home, who had been prepared to open the door. Kyou landed with an ouf a few feet away on the dirt ground; face first after colliding with a tree.
Shigure shook his head in annoyance and sighed, staring at the damaged scene. "There goes my house again . . ." He mumbled before stepping through the zigzagged hole and entering his home. Kagura now stood outside, on the porch, glaring at Kyou with balled hands. Tohru stood behind her, hoping that Kyou was okay.
He stood up slowly, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and facing Kagura with a furious expression. "Damn it, Kagura! What the hell was that for?"
"YOU DIDN'T PHONE ME! Do you know how worried I was? I thought that you had gotten eaten by bears, or kidnapped by a psycho, or killed by an assassin, or pinned to a tree, or poisoned by a mad scientist, or that your p-"
An instant later, he was behind her, covering her mouth with his hand. "Shut. Up. . . Don't say one more word!" He growled. He couldn't let her go on. One, she was really beginning to piss him off. Two? He couldn't let Tohru know his secret. Well, he had almost told her before Kagura had appeared . . . but he certainly couldn't let Kagura blurt it now.
Kagura blushed furiously and her eyes shimmered with a bit of joy at his sudden interference, her timid side showing; she had mistakenly taken his attempt at shutting her up as a mild affection. But this side of her – like always – didn't last too long when around Kyou. A moment later her personality changed once again and Kyou was being swirled around in the air at intense speeds.
Tohru watched, a sweat-drop seeping down her nervous head with a small smile forming with it. "U-Um . . . K-Kagura-san? . . ." She never did like violence much.
Kagura suddenly stopped, looking at Tohru with wide eyes and halting Kyou in mid-spin, his body falling limp. "Hm?" She blinked before registering Tohru's presence. Her innocence had returned. "Tohru-chan!" A big grin fell across her face suddenly, and she dove at Tohru, into a hug, forgetting about Kyou momentarily as he dropped to the ground with an audible thud.
Tohru laughed a bit and hugged her back, also happy to see Kagura, but truly satisfied now that the violence had temporarily shut off. Kyou stood up, silently relieved that Tohru had diverted Kagura's attention away. Who was now saying things like "how are you?" and "I haven't seen you in so long!" to which Tohru nodded and agreed that they should see each other more often.
He took this opportunity to sneak away from Kagura, whom was thankfully too entranced into a conversation with Tohru to notice his presence slipping away. Once he was out of the room and certain, he took a running start, but of course, he didn't get too far. Shigure stood there, grasping Kyou's shirt with his two fingers, keeping him from running any further.
"What the-? What do you think you're doing, Shigure?" The Cat lashed out, angry at The Dog for preventing his escape. A mere grin plastered Shigure's lips, waving his finger as if he was motioning 'no' to a child. "Nuh, uh, uh!~" His voice rang out, "You're not going anywhere! You messed up my house, you naughty, naughty boy!" He said with a bounce in his words, as if it was somehow cheerful.
Kyou could feel his anger growing with each second. "Me?" he shouted, orange cat ears popping up from his carrot-top, further distinguishing his emotions. "How am I the cause of your damn house being ripped apart? It was her!" He pointed at Kagura directly, being the fool he was, and grabbing her attention back to him. She turned to him, her conversation with Tohru seemingly postponed as her eyes targeted him and flashed with fury, a growling "YOOOOOUUU!" forming on her lips. A fearful "eep!" escaped Kyou as his orange cat ears suddenly vanished, and he tried further more to run from the vengeful Boar, but to no avail. In seconds, she had him by the scruff of the neck - Shigure had let go of him with a cigarette now in hand, lazing off to his writing room – and Kagura was ready to beat poor Kyou to pieces.
Luckily, much to Kyou's surprise, Yuki ducked his head in the doorway, calling to Kagura that her mom had phoned and wanted her home. Kagura's face changed to one of care, her prior emotions gone, and squeezed Kyou's guts out until she parted from him to leave. Outside, she stood and waved bye to Kyou, yelling that she "definitely will come back and visit soon to see Kyou again!", to which The Cat groaned inwardly, and slipped back into the main room whilst Tohru and Kagura was still saying their goodbyes.
Yuki stood with a slight smile on his face, awkwardly leaning his back against the wall with his arms folded over his chest. Kyou narrowed his gaze, irritation overwhelming him. "What are you smiling about, damn rat?"
"I bet you're glad I saved your butt." His voice was smooth and nonchalant, but held certain smugness to it – one that The Cat particularly found sickening.
"Feh! I didn't need saving!" Kyou snapped, his orange cat ears appearing atop his head.
"Oh?" The Rat's eyebrow quirked, seeming to consume pleasure from The Cat's instant defiance. "So you wanted to get beat up?"
"NO!" Kyou shouted, clenching his fists, and holding back the sudden urge to punch him for Tohru's sake.
Yuki's smile soured into a smirk. A gleam festered in his eye. "Oh . . . that's right. You'll do anything to keep your biggest secret from Honda-san!" he chuckled. "She'd hate you forever if she found out who you really were . . . now, wouldn't she? I really thought you would tell her this time. What a shame you didn't have the confidence. . ." He shook his head teasingly, as if pitying Kyou.
That was all it took. "GRRRRAAH! THAT'S IT, YOU DAMN RAT! I'm gonna finish you once and for all!" Kyou didn't hold back this time, rage filling him, and his fist soared through the air with great force, only for Yuki to dodge it. And then another one. And another one. And another. Each one with more anger and force than the one before. But they were all avoided effortlessly by The Rat.
That's the moment Tohru walked in, smiling, not yet noticing the fight that had just lashed out. "What do you two want for supper? There's still some miso so-" She offered pleasantly, but then broke off as her eyes widened at seeing the boy's fighting.
Suddenly, the two stopped – Kyou in mid-swing and Yuki in mid-defense – and looked at Tohru with blank expressions. They both relaxed. Kyou looked away; ashamed of being caught doing the one thing Tohru disliked most. Yuki, however, kept warm eyes on Tohru and smiled as if nothing had happened.
Tohru blinked at the awkwardness, slight worry overcoming her. "Are you two okay?"
"No worries, Honda-san. We're fine." He said innocently, and then turned to glare at Kyou. "I was just teaching the baka neko a lesson."
Tohru beamed nervously. "Oh! U-Um . . . I didn't mean to interu-"
"The fight is over." Kyou interjected, turning to look at her. "And as for supper . . . No leeks! You got that?" He said, ruder than he had initially intended.
Tohru stiffened firmly and saluted. "Yes!" And then scurried off into the kitchen to do her cooking.
A smile touched his lips at her innocence. At her determination. At her happiness. At everything that made Tohru who she was, and made him love her. His red eyes grew longing again, and the tiniest sadness flickered in their ruby orbs. If she only knew. If she only felt the same way, then maybe-
"It won't last." Yuki whispered, as if reading Kyou's thoughts. "Do you honestly think she will accept you just because she accepted your true form? You haven't even told her your biggest secret! Do you honestly assume that she'll just believe in you with absolutely no fear at all? Once she discovers what you really are, Cat, she will run. Run away and never return. You'll never see her again. And it will be your entire fault!"
Kyou gasped, and turned around, fists clenched, teeth gritted, and ready to swing a hard, painful punch at the cursed Sohma behind him.
But Yuki was nowhere in sight. The damn rat had already disappeared, leaving a fearful silence in his wake.
Review, Review, Review! Any and all kinds are immensely appreciated, and it keeps me writing! Afterall, you readers are what make the writer. ^^ I'll try and have Chapter 2 up soon, but I'll be updating slowly{with all my stories} due to school starting and life and such, so just bare with me! I want to keep this story going. I hope you do too! =-)