By: Riyuji
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It is owned by Natsuki Takaya and Hana to Yume and a couple of other people who I may not know about.
Author's Notes: This is my first Fruits Basket fanfic that was inspired by some poem that we had to read during English class. I tweaked the storyline a bit, making things a bit more interesting.
It was a peaceful Sunday morning at the Souma household. Tohru was doing her usual everyday chores, Shigure claimed to be working on his next novel, Kyou was busy with his morning training, and Yuki was still in bed… or so they thought. That peaceful Sunday morning was about to be disrupted by…
"Come on you stupid rat boy. This is the day you're going down!"
Yes, that.
"Must you sound like an idiot, saying that every single day?" asked Yuki, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand, still trying to adjust to the morning sunlight.
Tohru popped out from the dining room after setting up the table for breakfast. "Oh, good morning, Souma-kun. I didn't know you were up already."
"Good morning, Honda-san. I just came down anyway."
"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" shouted Kyou pointing indignantly at Yuki.
Tohru stiffened. "Ah! I'm sorry, Kyou-kun. I didn't mean to bother your challenge to Souma-kun!"
"Now, now, if you two are going to fight, I'd prefer that you take it outside. I may not have any more money to keep this house together," noted Shigure from the safety of his office.
"I don't give a damn where we fight! I just want it right now!" yelled Kyou, slamming his foot into the wooden floor.
"Stupid cat, you really aren't supposed to live here in the first place. And don't you find it too early to be creating a ruckus?" muttered the now-awakened Yuki.
"Maybe Kyou-kun will learn to take care of things if we made him pay for the damage that he causes," suggested the novelist.
"Don't you think that's too much, Shigure-san?" asked Tohru innocently.
Shigure waved a hand at the girl. "I'm pretty sure Kyou-kun could manage. He could just get a part-time job somewhere. After all, he is a growing boy."
Kyou's aura flared. "What did you say?" It was enough to spook the dog and the rice ball but the rat just sat there, unfazed.
"To add to that you'll be giving Honda-san more chores when she has to clean up your mess," Yuki added calmly, crossing his arms over his chest.
Tohru raised her hands defensively. "No, no. It's okay if Kyou-kun makes a mess. I'm kind of used to it already."
Kyou's cat ears sprouted out of his head, and his rage meter reached its peak, tipping over the scale. "Quit stalling already, damn rat!" His voice suddenly softened. "I'll clean whatever mess I make, whether I win or lose." His face was solemn, regaining its flesh-tan color.
"Oh, Kyou-kun, you don't need to burden yourself," the girl said, definitely moved by the gesture.
But Kyou's battle aura flared yet again. "But you know damn well that doesn't mean that I'm gonna lose!"
Tohru couldn't help but sweatdrop.
Yuki got into a stance. "I'm not going to go easy on you, stupid cat."
"Bring it on, rat!"
"Not in the house. Not in the house!" cried the novelist.
Kyou brought his arm backward, ready to deliver a punch at the silver haired boy.
Yuki dodged the punch with ease and took the chance to land a karate chop right behind Kyou's head, causing the cat to lose his balance.
Kyou caught himself just as he was about to hit the floor. But turned and was greeted by a punch from his opponent. He pushed the floor and used that moment to perform a leg sweep near Yuki's feet. His foot was actually able to hook onto the back of the rat's ankle causing Yuki to lose his footing and join him on the floor.
Tohru clapped her hands together. "Kyou-kun got a hit in!"
"Oh, did he?" asked Shigure in between what sounded like the tapping of the keyboard keys.
Kyou blinked for a couple of seconds trying to grasp the fact that he really did knock Yuki down this time. I hit Yuki. I actually hit that damn rat, he thought to himself. He clenched his fist and what seemed like a hoarse chuckle emitted from his mouth. He looked down, pointing at the rat, who was getting off the floor. "Whose inferiority complex will you blame that one on this time?"
Kyou allowed a smile to etch itself onto his features. He crossed his arms over his chest and held his head high. "Training has finally paid off. Wait till shishou (1) hears about this!"
"Then if you're so smart, you should know better than to let your guard down during a bout." Yuki threw a roundhouse kick that sent Kyou flying out the house, through one of the many shoji doors.
Shigure's canine-sense-of-hearing picked up the sound of tearing paper and crunching wood. He stuck his head out of his office to find a panting Yuki, a shocked Tohru, a flying Kyou and the now destroyed door. Small waterfalls of tears spilled out of his eyes. "Why couldn't it be avoided?" he muttered to himself.
Tohru gasped, her hands flying close to her mouth. I've never seen Souma-kun this angry before. Could it be because he really doesn't want to lose? Maybe he really went all-out on Kyou-kun so that he would win.
Tohru began exploring this new theory of hers to herself, which lead to another theory, and another, and another. She placed both her index fingers on her temple, deep in thought, but decided to drop it as soon as the theory became a jumbled-up mess in the nether regions of her mind.
Kyou wiped the dust off the corner of his mouth, and licked the small drop of blood that seeped out of the cut on his lower lip. Yuki had thrown him a couple of feet from the porch of the house. He stood up, turned back, and forged eye contact with the rat.
Tohru turned to Yuki, then to Kyou, and back to Yuki. She swore that she saw tiny daggers being thrown to each other by their opponent's gaze. They seemed almost visible, almost real.
Yuki had stepped down from the porch and onto the yard, and got into stance. Kyou did the same on the opposite side of the field.
I've never seen the two of them fight this intensely, noted Tohru, definitely worried about the possible outcome of this battle.
Kyou made the first move, as always, aiming an uppercut palm strike at Yuki's chin.
Yuki sidestepped the attack, ready for a comeback, but his opponent somehow clipped his side with a swift kick, tossing him to the left.
The fight was taking longer than anyone had expected. It was usually quick; a couple of kicks and punches from Kyou, a sidestep here and there from Yuki, then a finishing kick from the latter.
Twice? That stupid cat has broken through my defenses twice already? What's wrong with me today? Yuki got back up, looking as serious as ever. Kyou looked no different.
The two began pacing in a circle, their positions directly across each other. The fight was intense, the sun was high and the sky was clear, it could almost pass as a scene right out of a cowboy movie, minus the guns of course.
Thoughts of determination, pride, or anxiety ran through everyone's mind.
There's no way I'm gonna lose to that asshole-rat now!
I can't let that stupid cat win. Not now, not ever!
Should I stop them? One of them might get hurt. Oh, Kyou-kun, Souma-kun.
There. I'm done with the novel! Now, how do I give this to Micchan?
Well, almost everyone.
Both martial artists advanced at the same time. Kyou aimed a flying kick toward the side of Yuki's head. Yuki blocked it and retaliated with a palm strike headed for Kyou's chest.
Kyou staggered backward as Yuki's attack connected, but in those mere few seconds he was able to plot his next move. He brought his right arm backward then jabbed his elbow straight into Yuki's stomach.
Yuki was winded by the attack, his breaths coming out low and short. While Kyou was getting back into a stance, Yuki noted that the cat was wide open. He took that opportunity to try landing a palm strike or another chop behind Kyou's head.
Just as Yuki was about an inch behind Kyou, the cat turned, grabbed the rat's outstretched arm, and threw the unsuspecting rodent over his shoulder, tossing him to the ground.
A crack was heard as Yuki's body made contact with the earth. Tohru, having heard this rushed immediately to his side. "Souma-kun, are you all right?!"
Yuki didn't move at first, but acknowledged Tohru with a small nod.
Kyou panted as he released Yuki's arm. There was definitely a sparkle of awe in his eyes. "I did it. I actually beat Yuki!" He clenched both of his fists tight and laughed. He then pointed at Yuki, who was still lying on the ground. "Hear that? I finally beat you!"
"What's all the commotion about?" asked the novelist, a sure smirk on his face. He must've been able to think of a new way to torment his poor editor. "What's this?" It finally occurred to him that the fight was over and the victor was… strangely not Yuki.
"Isn't this new? I see Kyou-kun has finally beaten you, Yuki-kun," said Shigure, the tone of his voice seeming as if it were no big deal. "Now, who's ready for breakfast?"
To be continued…
Author's Notes: (1) "shishou"- Master. This is how Kyou refers to his martial arts teacher, Souma Kazuma.
Well, how was that? I actually had fun trying to keep the characters, well, in-character. The hard part was writing the fight scene. I had to rely on what little martial arts I remember taking up before. Well, see you in the next chapter. Till then, ja ne!