A thought I've had for quite some time now. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or its characters. All rights go to Natsuki Takaya.
On Valentines Day I received so many chocolates that I didn't want or need. Why would I want them? The girls who give them hardly know me. I appreciate them, I suppose, but I don't want them. I've never felt the need to return the favor on White Day until Honda-san gave me Valentines chocolate.
I want to give her a White Day gift, not only because it's the polite thing to do, but because by giving her something she might be happy.
"I'll be back for supper," I say. "I just have something I need to do."
Honda-san looks up from her homework. "What do you have to do?"
I evade her question. "It won't take me long."
Kyo scowls. "Do me a favor and don't come back."
"The favor that I'll do is that when I do come back, I'll kick you to the sky and rid us all of your presence. Stupid cat."
I pull on a coat and scarf before going into the cold winter air. I hate him. I'd been in a good mood and Kyo had to go and destroy it. What right did he have to say that no one wants me to come home?
Stupid cat. I really am going to hurt Kyo when I get back. I hadn't planned it originally, but now… Especially if he says something when I return. If he dares to say anything, he's going to be sorry.
But that's not the point. I don't want to be thinking about Kyo when I'm trying to find something for Honda-san. What would she like? I want to give her something worthwhile and something that can express all the emotions I carry for her, but also something to show how truly thankful I am to her for all that she's done. Anything to show everything though, that couldn't possibly come in a gift size that she would accept. She's not the type of person to willingly accept an expensive gift; it would only embarrass her and make her feel awkward.
That alone gave me a vague idea of where to go to find her return gift.
It takes me a little under twenty minutes to find a strip of small novelty shops in one of the many corners of Tokyo. I look through the windows, pulling up my scarf up further on my neck to ward off some of the cold. Honda-san… What would she like? It can't be incredibly expensive or she'll feel awkward accepting it, although I don't care one way or the other about price. I don't spend money on myself and I'd probably sooner spend it on her anyway.
Not jewelry. She would feel obligated to wear it when she hardly ever wears jewelry. Besides… I think she's pretty enough without it.
It has to be practical and useful. She likes simple things that she can use.
Suddenly I stop, staring at one display in particular with fascination, a small smile forming. I've never seen so many different kinds of hair ribbons in my life. I step inside, heading straight to the large display of ribbons. Dozens and dozens with all sorts of designs and colors.
"Can I help you, miss?" a female employee asks me.
I want to snap at her, but settle for a calm answer. "I'm shopping for White Day, and I'll be fine on my own, thank you."
She blushes. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir. I didn't realize."
I turn back to the ribbons. Blue? No, she already has blue hair ribbons. Besides, just because I happen to like the color blue doesn't mean she'd like it better than another color.
My eyes wander over them and suddenly I see it. It doesn't have any fancy print design like most of them, only a scalloped edge and the pure color of sunshine.
Sunshine. Just like her.
"Do you want it wrapped?" the girl asks when I take it up to the counter to pay for it.
"Yes, please," I say, not realizing that she's still feeling awkward about their earlier encounter. I'm imagining giving this ribbon to Honda-san, and the smile that she would surely give me. There was nothing in the world I can treasure more than her smile, and if I can give her reason to smile then I know that I can also smile by just knowing that.
I hope you liked it! It's not that exciting, but I wanted to think about how he came to buy the ribbon and why he chose it. Not sure about how it turned out, but I like it well enough. But please tell me what you think! I know I'm behind on review responses, but I'll get to them, I promise! Probably tomorrow, I'll go through and make sure I respond to everyone.
EDIT: I was looking over this again and was promptly horrified. I had allowed Yuki to think of Tohru as simply "Tohru". =_= No. It wouldn't be all bad but he thought of her as "Honda-san" at the beginning and if only consistency's sake he will continue to do so for the rest of the story. I can't say for sure he doesn't think "Tohru" and say "Honda-san", but it just feels better this way for reasons on unknown.