Author's Note:

Alright so, I belong to an LJ community called word of the day. Of course, I had to put some kind of anime in there, so I decided to do something winter and Fruits Basket centric. Well, I did. But I'm so proud of myself...this is 99 angsty! N fluff. At all.

Dedication:

KX.;)

Disclaimer:

I do not own Yuki. Or Tohru.

How sad is that?

The snow was falling from the sky in tiny flurries, dancing with the crack of the wind and settling into any surface it could find. The air was cold, the ground was wet, and the sky a dreary gray color…not the normal winter scene you'd see. The snow was too thin to make a decent snow man with out it looking like the winter character had gotten into the whiskey cabinet, and not that there was any children around to make a snow man. They all lived farther out, far away from this equally miserable place.

It was somewhat foggy outside, and there was a dismal ray of light from the headlights of the rusted car that was to take Yuki Sohma to the air port. Tohru Honda, the only other member of the house hold that was home then, was standing out on the front stoop, no coat, no boots, but her bare feet being burned by the snow and her teeth chattering, watching as Yuki, dressed in a wool coat with a red scarf tied around his neck, loaded the last of his suitcases into the trunk.

Yuki had gotten a scholarship to a boarding school in America. It had been a fine boarding school, one that could open Yuki's eyes to so many opportunities. At least, that's what he had told Tohru. Tohru believed him. Like always, she had hid every true emotion beneath a blanket of lies inside herself, something she reiterated inside herself. She had nodded and smiled and told him how happy she was. Of course, Tohru couldn't help but wonder…how had he decided to go now, to leave the second half of their year of school together, right after Tohru had told him how much she loved him?

Yuki slapped the trunk shut, looking up. His cold, purple-tinted eyes meeting Tohru's helpless brown ones. The contact almost broke Tohru, and she refused to break. Tohru didn't want to want anything, she wanted to give everyone that she loved happiness, and to do that, she knew that she would have to hide her own true feelings. For now. Maybe it wouldn't be like that always, but for now that was just how it had to be. There was a succinctness to Yuki right now, as if he was jumpy and wanted to leave as soon as possible as he walked over to Tohru.

"Well," Yuki asseverated. "that's the last of the bags."

"Yeah." Tohru replied.

"I guess I'll leave soon," Yuki responded, looking down at his pocket and pulling out a piece of paper. "Shigure and Kyo said they'd be back sometime later today. Here's the number of my cell phone, you can call it if you need anything."

Exactly what did he mean by anything? Tohru swallowed. If anything went wrong, Tohru wasn't going to call Yuki. It wasn't like he could sprint across the Atlantic ocean. It was beginning to hit Tohru hard—how in these last few weeks she had been avoiding Yuki because she thought that he hated her because she finally told him how she really felt. Yuki had been the best friend that Tohru could ask for, apart from Hanajima and Arissa. He had listened to her ,and really listened even when she was an emotional wreck.

"A while ago we promised each other something."

When Tohru spoke, she surprised both herself and Yuki. He blinked.

"We promised we'd be together always. You, me, Shigure, Kyo…." Tohru replied, her voice shaky. She wanted to stop. He was so close to achieving his goals, to go to boarding school and go to college and then finally, he'd be out of Akito's grasps. He wouldn't have to suffer the painful memories any longer. "And now you're leaving….and I don't know why."

Yuki brought a hand to his forehead, wiping it, and sighing.

"I'm not leaving you because you told me you loved me, Tohru." Yuki replied. "I love you too, but…I can't. Do you know what happens to people that are in love with each other? Kisa and Hiro, Hatori and Kana, Arissa and Kureno….Akito doesn't allow it. I'm a pawn, Tohru. A pawn in his sick game, and I'm finally getting away. I don't want to hurt you."

"Then let me come with you." She breathed, letting her hand rest on his chest.

"No, Tohru," He replied, shaking his head and removing her hand. "It's for the better."

Tohru felt tears drop down her cheeks as she watched him slowly kiss her on the forehead, then slowly make his way to the car, sliding into the back seat. Then Tohru watched the car pull away, and watched the love of her life leave.