Disclaimer: (said in corny western/melodramatic voice)
Oh, woe, woe is me! I do declare... I do not own fruits basket. (Swoon)
A/N: sorry bout the wait. I had to go pick up my sis in ohio. Ugh. Driving from Sandusky, Ohio to south central Texas is not fun. Especially not when you get stuck with the back seat which, after packing all her stuff from the past few months and mine and her boyfriend's traveling stuff was the size, roughly, of a can of tuna.
Whatever.
Alrighty. This chapter is another background. Please, just stick with it and don't kill me. I'm just telling the story, its not my fault. I'll get back to plot in the next chapter, I promise!!!
Tohru Honda. Such a simple name—to some, maybe. However, to those that knew her, well... words couldn't describe her kindness. Her understanding and considerate manner. Everything about Tohru Honda was simple, in a way, though. She had the faith of a child and the heart to match.
Kyoko was a wonderful person. She taught her daughter to trust and love others. She taught her to always be kind and thoughtful—what could it hurt, right? And Tohru learned. She loved her mother dearly and hung upon her every word.
As Tohru grew, she became exactly what her mother had hoped:
An honest, kind, hard-working human being.
Some laughed at Tohru, calling her naive and stupid. But those who really knew her and had been touched by her kindness knew that the others were wrong. The criticizing individuals never upset Tohru, though. If she even noticed them, she merely thought that meant she needed to work harder to be a better person.
Then the unthinkable happened... Kyoko was called away from her sweet daughter...
Tohru was passed from member to member in her family. It seemed there was no room for her anywhere. Her mother had been a little on the wild side when she was younger and it seemed that that was the only thing people could remember about her.
"The apple never rots far from the tree..."
So Tohru ended in the care of her father's father. He was a kind man, but decidedly old. His memory was fading and he had a habit of calling his granddaughter by his deceased daughter-in-law's name. But Tohru never minded. She was grateful to have a roof over her head and to be mistaken for her mother was a great compliment.
Though crushed, Tohru managed to continue with her life.
A few months passed.
One day, her grandfather called her to him.
"Kyoko-san?"
"...uh-It's m-me, Grandpa... Tohru?"
"I know." He just smiled. Sometimes Tohru couldn't tell if he was just playing around or not...
"You know how I've been talking about getting this dump renovated?"
Tohru scanned her memory for any pertinent info... nope. "Umm, no, I don't really remember... I'm sor-"
"So I've finally decided to do it! It should take a couple of months but once its done we can all live here."
"Wait... I'm not sure I-"
"But I'm afraid we can't stay here while they're working right? I'll be staying with them, but there's not much room for a growing girl," he chuckled to himself "so is there some place you can stay?".
"Who's going to live with us-"
"I knew it wouldn't be a problem. You'll need to be out tomorrow. Okay? Great."
"Grandpa-"
"I'm excited, too. What's for lunch?" and with that, he piddled his way to the kitchen, leaving Tohru babbling to herself, trying to sort out what had just happened. Finally she hung her head in defeat and said to no one, "O-okay."
Tomorrow? Oh no! where will I go? Uo-chan lives in such a small apartment, I couldn't intrude... but Hana-chan has such a big family, they don't need another mouth to worry about. And for so long... oh no...
That's when it hit her: Of course! I'll be on my own eventually, so why not start now? All right, Tohru! You can do it!!
After lunch, she set off looking for affordable apartments. Of course, she found none since 'affordable apartments' is a contradictory term. She was getting downright gloomy just at the prospect of telling her grandpa she had no place to go. Little did she know that her salvation was waiting at the local market.
"Thank you for coming! Did you know about our super-splash-of-stellar-sized-overstocked-soon-to-be-gone-blow-out-sale?"
Even Tohru felt out of breath. She smiled a bit nervously and honestly replied,
"Umm.. n-no, I didn't hear about your... sale..."
"Great! Then I don't want to waste your time telling you about it! If you have any trouble finding the sale items, just look for the flashing blue lights. Have a fantastic day!"
And with that, Tohru was given a gentle shove out of the way. A little offended, she looked behind her to see that an entire line had been formed and weaving its way through the busy street behind her.
Oops. I guess I'm putting everyone out, today...well, might as well see what's on sale. Hah. I wonder if they have apartments here! Ha...
And there it was. A blue flashing light. Like a beacon in the foggy night, Tohru followed it to safety... a tent. It was perfect!
On sale... a tent... yes! This is exactly what I need! I'll buy this tent, find a nice, safe place... maybe in those big woods behind grandpa's... but I'll set up my tent and I'll get by just fine! Yep. Tohru's Tent. This is so wonderful!
And so it was. Tohru moved into her little tent the next day, unaware that this simple act of independence would change the very foundations she lived on. Literally.
The day of the incident started with a surprise. She'd been living in her tent for about four weeks now, and all was going fairly well. Money was tight, but she wasn't hungry and had a roo— well... she had something over her head.
She decided to take a different route to school for whatever reason that day. She made sure to even leave early so she could take her time and not get lost in these massive trees.
Its so nice out here. I can't believe nobody lives out her—
A cabin. This was new.
She began to poke around for signs of life. Maybe it was abandoned? Maybe it was... haunted?!
Oh my goodness! That's why nobody lives here! Its haunted! Oh no! I—
She stopped when she saw, laying as if to dry, twelve small, round stones painted in the likeness of twelve different animals.
Rat, dog, dragon, horse, sheep, tiger, rabbit... hey, that's just like the animals in the zodi—
"Oh, my. Do my aging eyes deceive me, or is there a young girl on my front porch?"
A handsome man wearing traditional clothing had appeared in the previously empty doorway.
Ahh! Ghost! His clothes are so old, he probably died a long time ago and wants me off his land! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no...
"What brings you here, my little flower?" the stranger lifted a single finger to her chin and slowly lifted it until she was looking him in the eyes.
"Eep!" This was not a ghost. Definitely real. Definitely. Slightly embarrassed with herself, Tohru broke his gaze and looked down to where the animals were drying.
"I see you've found my little project. Heh."
"O-oh! Yes! They're so cute! I love the zodiac. But I did notice that you left out the cat..."
"Oh? The cat? oh, yes... you speak of the old folktale..."
"Yes, I always loved the cat the most of all! I'm a dog, myself," the man had to stop himself from giggling at her unintentional 'modesty', "but I've always wished I could be a cat—well, ever since I heard the story."
"Hmph. I wonder what he'd say to that. Ha."
"He?" The man ignored her question and plowed ahead.
"You said you were the year of the dog? Me too! I knew there was a connection between—" he had begun to lean in almost suggestively towards Tohru when he stopped abruptly. This was likely do to the book bag which had landed squarely on top of his head.
"No molesting."
Tohru looked up to see none other than Yuki Sohma; Prince, heart-throb, etc.
"S-S-Sohma-kun!!?"
"Honda-san?"
It was then that Tohru knew it was going to be a long day.
The night of the mud-slide, Tohru had just gotten home from a double-shift at work. She was having to work even harder now to support herself and go to school and all.
"I'm home, mom. Oh, boy... am I tired. But, no rest for the weary! Gotta keep on busing. [A/N I think she means 'trucking'] Once I finish my homework, then I can go to bed. Yawn. Hmm... I think I'll just go wash my face to wake me up. Be right back, mom."
As she lifted the flap to her tent door, however, she received the first of many, many shocks. Standing in front of her was none other than Yuki Sohma and his cousin, Shigure.
That was the beginning. She was taken into their home and, as corny as it may sound, their hearts. She met so many new people and befriended them all without hesitation. They had adventures and dilemmas, but they always managed because they were together. Awww.
As time rolled by, however, Yuki and Kyo steadily realized that their rivalry went deeper than just that of cat and rat. They didn't care about the zodiac. They cared about Tohru.
But what to do? She seemed so oblivious to how they felt. Sometimes it seemed she felt the same way, but they could never be sure. Insecurity got the better of the boys. They got used to her being there. They got used to their unspoken stalemate. At least they still had her, even if they had to share, right?
Tohru did feel the same way. It was so confusing. Sometimes, she felt like Yuki was the most wonderful person in the world. Then, she'd spend some time with Kyo and know that he, too was such a special person. Finally, after about their senior year in high school, Tohru had an epiphany: maybe they didn't feel the way she felt.
Tohru decided that this must be the case. They felt like big brothers towards her, but nothing more. It broke her heart and solved her problems all at once. Yet Yuki and Kyo had no idea of her thoughts.
So again, time passed. She eventually got good at ignoring the dull ache of a broken heart and the boys never knew they had lost their only chance to make a move.
Then, everything changed in one fell swoop. A new contender for Tohru's affection appeared. Dammit! This was their Tohru! If one of them couldn't have her, they just assumed that they all would go on this way forever. It was this thinking that cost them the most precious treasure they'd known.
It happened so quickly. On the day Tohru graduated from college, they were throwing her a surprise party. To make it feasible, the boys staged a fight as an excuse to stay home and decorate. (They sure as hell weren't about to let Shigure get all the credit for this.)
But Tohru was late. They had ordered take-out since they couldn't cook and weren't about to ask her to prepare the feast meant for her. The food was late, too. Finally, a stained and soaking wet Tohru came in, already apologizing for being so late to come home.
With her was a man. If Yuki and Kyo had realized the danger of letting this man into their lives, they probably would've beat the crap out of him right there and sent him on his merry way. But they were kind people, thanks to Tohru, and welcomed him.
He ended up getting a bad cold, as well as Tohru, and was kept in Shigure's home for almost a week. By the end of this short time, he was decidedly in love and determined to make Tohru his.
And once he was better, he asked her out. Tohru thought he meant as friends, so didn't even hesitate. After that date, he asked her again. And again. And again. Slowly but surely Yuki and Kyo realized that this man wanted to be more than just friends with Tohru. But when they went to question Tohru, she insisted that she was fine. He was just a good friend.
Why would it bother them so? Ah! They're just being like big brothers and being protective of me!
And things continued at this pace for a few months. Tohru was out with the man so much now that the boys had to fix themselves dinner two or three times a week. The laundry was going undone and the house was a mess.
This had to end.
None knew how fast the end was coming.
Just six months after meeting, the man proposed to Tohru. She accepted.
She was happy. Please don't think she wasn't. Tohru became the mother of two beautiful children. Her husband adored her. He gave her anything she could think of. He started off as a mere delivery boy, but ended up the owner of his own chain of food based on Tohru's recipes. They became almost as wealthy as the Sohma family, truth be told.
Yuki and Kyo were beyond heart broken. Yet they remain fixtures in her life. She was like an addiction—impossible to give up cold turkey. But maybe they could wean themselves off of that smile... learn to live without it. With out her.
When she was in her late forties, she found the lump. But, being Tohru, she didn't want to worry anyone or make a fuss, so she went to the doctor in secret. He said it was cancer. It could be treated, but it would be a long and painful process for everyone. Even then, she'd spend most of her remaining life in the hospital.
So she thought about it. After a few agonizing days, she chose to take option 'b'. She would suffer in silence and not worry her family. If it was her time, she wouldn't fight it and risk her family getting hurt. The children were older now, and could take care of themselves. She had nothing really holding her back...
The day Tohru died was the coldest day in June that Japan had ever known. It was like the sun itself was dying.
Tohru had collapsed from the pain just a few days before and was in the terminal ward of the hospital. She was fading fast.
One by one, familiar faces came in to say goodbye to Tohru. Most agree that even on her death bed, her weak smile could only be described as Springtime.
Her husband wept at her side.
Yuki wept at her side.
Kyo...never came to see her. He had left for training in the mountains again and hadn't been back for a while. He had no idea that the love of his life was dying in a hospital.
Yuki was the last to see her alive. He didn't want to leave, but visiting hours were over, and she needed all the rest she could get.
Tohru didn't want him to leave. She watched his back turning and felt true pain for possibly the first time in her life.
The pain was more than human thought could comprehend, so the blackness of the sleep before her was in fact welcome.
Death came to Tohru gently, and enveloped her like a blanket around a scared, cold child.
And she was gone. She was 48 years old.
It was quite a long time before she would 'wake up' again.
Not until they were all dead.
A/N: eh? Well? Heh. My plot monkeys play guerilla warfare. Take THAT! Ha.
Expect a new chapter really soon. .
