A/N: I do not own Fruits Basket. I'm not sure when I'll update next, but hopefully within a month... depending on my mood and free time. xP Chatacters may be a little OOC, but given the circumstances I think that'll be alright. I'll try not to let them get too out of chatacter though.


Change of Fate: Chapter 2
-Accidental Oportunity-

Tohru looked over at Yuki who was sitting on the couch with his hand wrapped in a green towel, eyes on the floor in front of him. The bright red had been such a contrast against the green, and Tohru guiltily thought of Christmas time. She took a seat beside the boy. She had finished cleaning the broken plates up, cleaning the table off completely, washing the floor, doing the dishes, and she had put a Crockpot of beef on the cupboard to have for supper as well as potatoes, carrots and peas. She had also decided to bake an apple pie. Since it was a Saturday she had no homework and had time to spend with everyone. "Yuki-kun how is your hand?" she asked as she went up to him.

Yuki blinked down at his wrapped hand which looked foreign to him. Tohru had cleaned off the blood from his hand, though the color stained his skin some. "I think the bleeding has stopped." He pulled the towel off, jumping when Tohru lunged for him suddenly, hands outstretched.

"No!" she exclaimed, pressing the green material back to his skin. What was he thinking! "It'll bleed again! Mother always said that you should always be careful around cuts and blood, because you never know what could go wrong." She still felt guilty for being the cause of all this, as she saw it. It was her fault that Yuki had been doing the dishes that led up to the injury. It was her job! And now she was inconveniencing everyone because of her mistake! Shigure had taken off his precious time of writing to instead call Hatori and ask him to come over, which had been longer than she had expected it to be.

Shigure had sounded so serious, not that she had been listening though. It was just something she noticed. Usually Shigure and Hatori's conversations were playful, carefree, flirtatious, (on Shigure's end at least) and laid back. His loud and vast tone hadn't been there when she heard the man last.
Kyo had left after hearing that Hatori would be coming over; wanting to avoid a talk from him since he thought it was his fault. Tohru was sure it was her fault, though. The cat was on the roof as they spoke, on his back and watching the below happenings.

Yuki heaved a sigh. "Honda-san, like I said, it's stopped bleeding by now I'm sure. It can't be too bad. It was nearly stopped when Shigure-san called Hatori-san, and that was a while ago. Don't worry." Tohru pouted quietly. She had to worry, she always did. She felt like the mother of the house, of Yuki. She knew he had a hard time to open the lid, so to speak, and she had wanted to help him and she did. So no, she couldn't not worry about him. It didn't feel right.

The girl's keen eyes caught a blue kimono flash by the doorway. Wasn't Shigure in his study? Why was he in the kitchen? She felt childish wondering. This was the man's house! "Does Shigure-san need something from the kitchen?" she asked from her place beside Yuki.

There was the rustling of bags before Shigure spoke. "I simply went to grab Pocky and mochi," he called. "You can't write without something to nibble on, the juices just don't flow!"

Tohru gave a frown of disapproval. "Shigure-san shouldn't snack so much between meals. It's not good for you." It was a known habit of the dog's to rummage through the cupboards and snack throughout the day. It was true, Tohru often wondered about his health. She had to buy more sweets every week just for him, though she disliked to. However it was hard to say no to a begging Shigure. She had to admit, being a dog gave him an advantage when the time came. He could be so adorable when he wanted to. She never told anyone however; since Kyo and Yuki would be more protective of her knowing Shigure would probably use that to his advantage.

Shigure chuckled, coming into the living room and leaning back on the wall, facing them. "Ha-san should be here any moment... Such a devious man, he is! He took the time to speak longer on the phone with me to talk of his crush on you, Tohru!"

Tohru felt her face heat, and she stammered. "H-Hatori-san couldn't like me, h-how... nice though!" She stared as both Shigure and Yuki gave smiles. She had always had the impression they enjoyed teasing her.

Yuki gave a frown at Shigure as he came to stand behind the futon where he was sitting, quickly brushing crumbs off his lap as they fell, and the writer leaning over him. "You're disgusting, making more mess than needed! I can't believe you. The cat has better manners than the likes of you!"

Shigure let out a heavy sigh, eyes closed as he shook his head. "Ne, Yuki-kun, why do you choose to insult me so? I have enough dignity left to clean up after myself at least!"

Tohru's eyebrows knit together quickly. "I can clean it up. Although Shigure-san should eat, uh, above the sink perhaps, I can sweep it up for–"

There was a flash of blue before Tohru noticed that Shigure's face was inches away from her own, his soft eyes looking into hers, a gentle smile on his mouth. "My little flower, I could never ask you to do such a thing... To someone as special to me as you, I cannot."

Tohru was stunned into paralysis, blinking rapidly at the man. "O-Okay..."

"Pervert!" came the loud, cruel voices of the two younger boys of the household, causing Tohru to snap back out of her daze. She looked to the boys just as they both landed their fists to the said man's head, who was now cowering animatedly. He rubbed his head with a nervous laugh. "Now, where's the broom?" The poor man didn't even know where it was in his own house.

"Kyo-kun!" she exclaimed as her eyes surfed from person to person. "When did you come in here? Do you need something?" It hadn't been that long that Kyo had been on the roof, had it? He usually spent hours at a time up there if he could, Tohru thought as she pointed towards a closet in the hallways for Shigure while Yuki glared hotly at him.

Kyo rolled his eyes, fists on his hips. "Keh. Hatori-san got out of his car, I saw, and from the sounds of it you guys were too damn busy to... Don't give me that look!" he suddenly snapped, eyes narrowing and face darkening.

Shigure was smirking deviously with the broom in his two hands. "Ah, Kyo, we all know you wish you had been me in Tohru's near embrace!" He set the broom against the wall, 'motivation' lost, and grabbed another Pocky stick. He chewed at it before Yuki jabbed an elbow into his older cousin's side, causing him to scurry aside.

Tohru blinked at Kyo. "Hatori-san is here? Oh! I can't have him waiting!" The girl quickly made haste to the door, but stopped in her tracks after a few paces to keep from running into the doctor that stood in her way. "Hatori-san!" she said, placing a welcoming smile on her face. Just a few more steps and she might have set off the curse.

Tohru knew that Hatori above all others despised his zodiac form. Being a dragon was considered special, as the rat was, although to him it wasn't when instead of becoming a dragon you became a small, 8 inch seahorse. Tohru couldn't help but feel warm inside; his zodiac form was so cute! He shouldn't be ashamed about it. Even though he was supposed to act as the strong, stoic, dependable one of the 12, he too was still a human, Tohru thought. He had emotions and feelings like everyone else. To her, he deserved the love he should have once had. At least she had gotten to know just a few more sides of him while she had known him.

Shigure was grinning like a fool as he watched Hatori stare at the girl, knowing he was thinking about the curse as well. "Tohru-chan, shouldn't you get our lovely, handsome doctor some tea, or are you going to greet him to death?"

Tohru blushed suddenly, feeling like a complete fool. "Silly me, of course I will..." She turned from the man in the suit and left to the kitchen to grab the pot of tea. Having already made it, it was fresh and smelt sharply of raspberry and blueberry. She brought the pot to the table, and hurried to grab the cups afterwards for everyone.

Yuki was sitting on the futon again, Hatori kneeling in front of him and gently taking the green towel off and setting it on the floor. He examined the feminine hand carefully, turning it over a few times. He made a small noise and set the hand on Yuki's lap before rummaging through his bag he had brought with him.

Tohru stood watching, having quickly prepared the tea, and an ashtray as well. "Is it bad Hatori-san?" If Yuki was in need of stitches, she wouldn't ever be able to forgive herself.

Hatori brought out a small white square bandage to place over the cut, sizing it before cutting the correct shape and then pulling out gauze to wipe the area. "There were no shards in the lesion. It should heal quickly." Tohru noticed he had an almost gloomy, saddened look about his face as he patched the rat up. Was everything really okay with Yuki? What was on his mind?

"Ha-san, is that all you're going to say before tea time? My, my, someone's on that brilliant mind of yours!" Shigure said from his post. Tohru watched as Hatori shot him a look, and Kyo seemed to be bristling from the tension in the room.

"What's that supposed to mean, you damn dog? What are you two up to?" He relaxed some as Tohru looked at him. He was sure that Shigure wanted him to bring up the topic about how the entire scene that caused the incident, although he was sure the doctor already knew judging by the phone conversation earlier. Nothing seemed too private in this house when it came to the phone conversations.

"Kyo-kun, do you want to be the first to sit at the table? I'm sure Yuki-kun, Hatori-san and Shigure-san will join us in a little while..." Tohru stammered slightly even though she was speaking to Kyo. The air could be sliced through with a knife with the way Hatori and Shigure were quietly exchanging looks.

Yuki seemed oblivious to the silent conversation, having paid more attention to his mending hand and spoken conversations. "Baka neko, you shouldn't be the one to be seated first. You–"

"Raspberries!"

Everyone looked at Shigure with a blank expression. He was holding an empty box of Pocky sticks in his hands, as well as the unopened mochi. "I can smell it! The luxurious aroma of raspberry and blueberry, am I right Tohru-chan? It must be getting cool, ne? And Yuki, don't you worry about Kyonkichi! I will be the one to seat myself first at the table! There is matter we should all discuss, you know!"

Hatori gave a small sigh that hardly made a sound. "I suppose Shigure is correct in the matter that we must discuss something."

Tohru stared at the man before smiling. "Yes! Shigure-San has a wonderful sense of smell! Come sit everyone, please!" She ushered the men into the room where the table and tea awaited.

Yuki sat down, lightly flexing his hand, while Kyo seated himself across from him, through made room for Tohru to sit beside him. He didn't want to be the one caught sitting by Shigure or Hatori, even though they both took their own places. What was this matter they were speaking about?

Tohru looked to Hatori as she poured him his tea. "It's so nice to see you again, Hatori-san! And thank you for coming to see Yuki-kun's hand... Hatori-san must be working very hard today and is very busy, I–"

Hatori held up a hand to cut her off. "You're far too kind Honda-san. It was a pleasure coming out here." He looked to Shigure who was kneeling forward on his elbows, the sleeves of his navy kimono drooping.

Tohru blinked at the two men, and then at Yuki and Kyo. She had a feeling they were going to bring up the topic of her stupidity and how her chores should be hers... Or how they saw it, that she was doing too much. That topic came up somewhat often as well. "Do Shigure-san and Hatori-san need a moment alone?" she asked, already standing up. Maybe they had something between themselves now that they needed to talk about themselves? Although Shigure usually said what he wanted and what was on his mind, and they may have been talking privately already by now, which wasn't the case.

Yuki quietly sipped at his tea, watching the scene from the rim. Hatori seemed far more quieter than usual, and so did Shigure. Shigure should have been blabbering aimlessly away Hatori, while the doctor argued back as politely (or rudely) as possible. He set the tea cup down slowly. "Shigure, what's going on?"

Kyo growled as the eldest cousins shared looks. Again. "We know something's up, hurry up and spit it out already!" He wouldn't admit it, but he hated the strange tightening feeling he was getting in his chest. Whenever something involved Shigure, Ayame or Hatori (or just one or the other) it usually didn't mean something wonderful.

Tohru sat back down, seeing it was pointless to continue standing. She folded her hands on her lap, beginning to blush lightly as everyone's eyes landed on hers. Hatori's seemed to be the heaviest. "Honda-san," the doctor said carefully. "It's been brought to my attention that you've been living in this house for a few years now, and being too kind to everyone including the idiot owner," he said before taking a drag on the end of his newly lit cigarette.

Shigure blinked, for once quiet and mature enough to take this with stride. Hatori had mentioned the dark topic on the phone. He lit a cigarette himself, holding the lighter in his hands afterwards. "Our flower has been wonderful to us."

Tohru stared at each person at the table, and out of the corner of her eye she could see Kyo's body become rigid. "Y-Yes... I enjoy living here. I wouldn't want anything else. I'm so very happy living with all of them, and I think they're happy too. It's been a blessing to have met people like they have..."

Hatori blew out a long stream of grey smoke, eyes gently looking into hers. Tohru could see behind his calm mask that he was thinking quickly, anxious and sad. "Akito-sama has told me that he doesn't agree with this arrangement, as well as your happiness in staying here. Tohru, he's said to me, along with some other things, which simply put you..." he paused to swallow. All eyes were on him now. "You cannot continue living with Shigure, Yuki and Kyo."

"What?" came Yuki's yell, slamming a fist on the table. "Akito-sama can't do that!" He coughed a few times, using his hand to fan away smoke that had curled towards him.

Tohru felt the blush from her face drain out of her, limbs becoming numb. Akito wanted her to leave? Why? Her stomach tightened and her wide eyes looked to everyone individually before landing on Kyo, who was also wide eyed and quiet. Shigure had a solemn look, and Hatori had used his emotionless mask completely, eyes on the cup of tea. There was a long silence before Tohru spoke. "Why? I mean, I-if Akito-sama wants me to leave, I will, because I..." she stammered. "Where do I go? And will I be able to... To see you all again?"

Hatori's eyes closed for a moment as he took a long drag, eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Possibly," was all he said. "It's not that the rest of the family agrees with it. However no one can go against his orders."

Tohru felt the world crush around her, although she refused to let it get her down. She pushed the numbing feeling away for a moment. She knew that what Hatori said was correct. No one went against the head of the family's wishes; even Shigure had told her that once. But why now? What was the reason behind it? The girl bit her bottom lip as he stared into the cup of tea she was holding, long brown hair draping down and covering her face some as the boys stared at her, Kyo's mouth open, Yuki's in a tight line.

Hatori watched as Tohru's spirit left her completely, all happiness and pleasure evaporated. "Tohru, I don't want to do this. But I've been given orders that Akito-sama wishes to speak with you. He told me to come out here and send his message, and to bring you back with me. That's all I know so far. When Shigure called to tell me about Yuki's hand, I knew that this would be a good time to tell you. It was unfortunitely an... accidental opportunity. If I had prepared to come here specifically without reason that you knew of, I had a feeling Kyo and Yuki would have caught on and tried something."

The silence was unbearable afterwards as Tohru's eyes looked up at the doctor as he spoke. Kyo and Yuki shared glances. What Hatori had said was true. They certainly would have suspected Hatori was here to take away her memories. Why else would the dragon come all the way out here? Shigure took a heavy drag on his cigarette, head tilted forward slightly.

Tohru swallowed thickly. She was sure everyone else was watching her now that she had made a simple movement. She knew all the others had the same question on their mind as she did. That seemed to make it all more daunting. After so long of living peacefully, she thought she would never have to ask it under such circumstances. She opened her mouth, words barely a whisper. "Will I be able to keep my memories?"


And that's where it ends for now. Hope you enjoyed. If there are any mistakes or errors, don't hesitate to tell me! R&R -Makitog