A/N: Reviews sure are a great incentive to write more. Thanks for the encouragement, Curry Kitty!
Disclaimer: Fruits Basket belongs entirely to Natsuki Takaya
Chapter 3: Handling the Beast
Tohru looked from Mr. Yuki to the young man spitting daggers from the opposite end of the breakfast table. The contrast between them couldn't have been more stark. The redhead stood there with a bit of skin showing around his collar, his white cravat hanging on for dear life. If Mr. Yuki was as reserved and cool as a pond in winter, Kyo positively seethed with heat. Tohru shifted to see him better.
"Embarrass myself?" Kyo snorted. "What are you talking about?"
Across the table, the earl propped an elbow on the table and plopped his head into his palm. He sighed, smiling. "I imagine he means you should watch your language around our fair visitor."
Kyo's gaze dropped to Tohru for the first time. For a moment, his dusky skin flushed, but his jaw tightened over gritted his teeth. "I don't have time for this. Yuki's trying to kill me."
"Oh, this ought to be good," Yuki murmured.
"Don't act like you didn't put that man-eating beast in the stables. He had rat stink all over him!"
The earl, Shigure, began tapping one finger on the table. "Kyo, if you don't explain the reason for your rampage, I'll have you thrown out for boring me."
"A great brute of a chestnut was in my usual stall. When I opened the door, it kicked at me with both front legs, then lunged to take a bite out of my head. Chased me halfway across the stable yard before I could slam the gate behind me. I've never seen the damn beast before in my life," he jabbed an accusing finger at Yuki, "and I know he's behind it!"
"Oh no!" Tohru jumped to her feet, sending the chair skidding back over the floor. "It's Bellsire. Oh dear, Mr. Kyo I'm so terribly sorry. Was there a cat nearby?"
Behind her, Yuki's silverware stilled. The earl ceased his tapping. Kyo stared at her, his molten gaze boring through her with an intensity Tohru didn't understand. "He," she began, "my horse Bellsire hates cats, you see, and he'd only attack like that if he smelled one. I'm sorry, it's all my fault Mr. Kyo. I'm glad he didn't hurt you."
"Your..." Kyo's weight shifted. His chin jutted up and he folded his arms across his chest. "You're lying. For Yuki."
The venom in his accusation shot like poison to Tohru's heart. Tears pricked her eyelids. "No, it's the truth, I'll show you."
She bolted for the foyer, heedless of the grandeur of the house and the exalted position of its inhabitants. Her vision burned with the memory of those cognac-colored eyes, the anger in them, and behind the anger, had that been hurt she saw?
The grand front doors stood nearly fourteen feet tall. Tohru wrapped both hands around the handle and pulled one of the panels open.
"Don't!" Iron-hard fingers seized her above the elbow, squeezing with the power of a vise.
"Ow!" Tohru cried.
"Release her, you bastard."
At the hard command, the hand fell away. Tohru turned to see Kyo backing up, staring at his own fingers. Her arm throbbed where his thumb had dug into muscle, but he looked so horrified at himself, she yearned to reach out and comfort.
Yuki stepped deeper into the hall. "You are a menace," he said.
His voice seemed to snap Kyo back to life. "Menace?" he sneered. "The only menace here is your hell-spawn horse!"
"Shut your mouth for one moment and listen to me. This girl was sweetness itself to you and you hurt her. You hurt her. I ought to—"
"I'm fine," Tohru said quickly, dropping her hand from massaging her bruise. She forced a laugh. "And Mr. Kyo, it really is my horse, come see." Before the men could say another word, she slipped outside.
Poor Bellsire. She spied an enclosed stable yard just beyond the curving driveway and ran down the steps. Maybe if she rode her gelding back to the house, Kyo could see he wasn't a danger and believe that Bellsire did indeed belong to her. Then he and Mr. Yuki wouldn't say such hateful things to each other. She couldn't bear to think she had caused their fight.
The gate latch was well-oiled and held no sign of rust. She flipped it back and darted into the enclosure. There, on the far end of the yard, a chestnut gelding danced away from a stable boy's hands. Bellsire's run-in with the cat must have left him antsy. He didn't usually resist handling. She bowed her lips and whistled.
Bellsire's ears pricked, and for a moment, his tail stopped its agitated twitching. He turned and began a slow trot toward her across the yard.
Then, his head jerked up. His nostrils flared. With only thirty yards between them, the mighty horse charged.
Tohru barely had time to scream before strong arms banded around her and whipped her sideways out of Bellsire's path. An explosion of dirt and smoke burst around her. She lost her balance, and only a pile of fabric broke her fall.
Shaking her head to clear it, she looked up to see the earl himself catch Bellsire's reins. Yuki strode toward her, anxiety lining his beautiful features. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm...fine," Tohru said. "Where did...who saved me?"
Yuki's head tilted to one side. He took her arm and helped her stand. "'Who' Miss Honda? You threw yourself out of harm's way."
"But, I felt someone's arms..." She crossed her arms over herself, trying to remember. Already, the memory faded just beyond her reach. She couldn't have imagined it...surely she hadn't.
"Eh, your guardian angel perhaps?" Yuki said, and his smile was so gentle, his eyes so concerned, that Tohru let him curl her hand through his arm and lead her from the stable yard. As she took her first step, however, her toe caught on the fabric beneath her feet. "Are these clothes?"
"Some slovenly stablehand no doubt. I'll speak with them."
"Oh please, don't, it's no matter to me." Her stomach gave a little rumble, and she peered up through her lashes sheepishly. "Do...you think my breakfast has gone cold?"
Yuki laughed and looked down at her in wonder. "You are a remarkable young lady, Miss Honda. I assure you, it will be no trouble to get you more."
An anguished wail rang from the house. "I must go! I've failed you, Your Highness, you entrusted me with dear Lady Kisa and Young Master Hiro and I've failed," the voice cried.
To Tohru's astonishment, the individual tearing down the front steps was a man.
The countess appeared beneath the portico in a swirl of robin's egg blue. "Ritsu Sohma, I am not a queen, so stop addressing me as 'Your Highness' and stop crying like a woman. Get back here at once."
But the poor man just moaned and sprinted for the stables.
Tohru's heart ached for him, but Yuki merely tightened his grip on her hand and kept walking toward the house. As they passed by, Shigure glanced at Yuki. "What does he expect to do, kick his heels and snivel while the ostlers hitch a team to the carriage? Surely, he can't ride."
"You'd be amazed at what Ritsu can do when he's desperate to hide from a failure."
And just like that, the man burst from the stables, clinging to a horse's back like a loose-limbed monkey. He rode away, but barely.
Reeling from the bombardment of people and conflicts, Tohru reached her free hand over to rest on Bellsire's whithers. Her dear friend shook his mane, as if to reassure her he was still here, and the world was normal.
"Quite the little hell-spawn you have here, Miss Honda," Shigure winked. "I like a girl who can handle beasts."
"He's not a beast, my lord, only around cats. His sire and grandsire before him were all like that, so we couldn't have cats anywhere near home..." her voice trailed off, suddenly unsure that was a direction she should have taken.
The earl's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "And where was home, exactly?"
But the countess saved her from answering. She sauntering down the steps, every inch the queen she professed not to be. "Well, Shigure? What will we do now? The children must have a tutor and I'm leaving for London the moment Harris finishes with my portmanteaux."
"Not to worry, my love. Miss Honda will make an excellent temporary governess."
(A/N: I thought about holding onto this just so I can establish some kind of regular update schedule, but I figure that isn't fair to readers, so it's ready now and I'm posting it now. I know I won't be able to maintain this pace, but I promise that as soon as the chapters are ready, I'll post them.)
