A/N: Okay…I think I will resist putting a lemon in this chapter. Maybe. I haven't really decided yet. .' Hehe…
DISCLAIMER: If I owned Fruits Basket, I would know the ending of the series, now, wouldn't I?
CAUTION: Potential lemon and/or yaoi.

Chapter 4: A Bellicose Cat and the Rat's Feelings

The Sohmas and Tohru sat down for a wonderful dinner of…
"LIVER AND LEEKS! I HATE LEEKS!"
Kyo's voice could be heard for miles beyond the boundaries of Sohma Shigure's humble home.
"Ah! I'm so sorry!" Tohru was apologizing. Clearly, she had forgotten the last time she made liver and leeks for dinner. At that time, Yuki had just about killed Kyo, trying to force the heterogeneous mix down his throat, before Kagura had come bursting through the door.
Tohru scrambled to her feet and dashed to the kitchen, calling over her shoulder,
"I'm sorry, Kyo-kun! I'll make you some soup right away!"
Yuki sighed. That stupid cat is always causing trouble for Tohru. Why does he have to be so picky?
Shigure laughed and knocked Kyo on the head, lightly. "Aw, Kyon-kichi, why are you causing so much trouble for poor Torhu-kun, eh?"
"Since when did you start calling me that! It's bad enough when Ayame does it!"
Kyo was furious, and started batting at the dog's hand, which still rested atop his head.
"Ah, Kyo-kun, here's your soup."
Tohru made her way back into the dining room, a steamy bowl of miso soup in her hands, the spoon clattering against the side of the ceramic bowl.
"A-arigatou," Kyo muttered, his face heating slightly. She didn't really have to…Grrr, why do I have to be so picky?
Tohru simply smiled at him and shook her head. "It's all right, Kyo-kun. I'm just glad you didn't run off and go without dinner again."

The rest of the meal passed by with a relative smoothness. Of course, there was the occasional outburst from Kyo as Yuki made degrading comments or as Shigure made some statement that had both the younger Sohmas yelling at the dog, but it was a good meal, with the feeling of being a family, nonetheless.
After dinner, Kyo volunteered to help with the dishes, his own way of making sure that Tohru knew how appreciative he was of her going out of her way to support his anti-leek eating habits. As Tohru washed, he dried the dishes, stealing glances at her slim form every now and again. It's not that he had never really known she was a girl; that was plain to see. However, he had never actually looked at her before. The cat was suddenly entranced by the sway of her hips, the shimmer of her hair as she moved and it rippled in the fluorescent lights.
When the dishes were done and the kitchen cleaned, Kyo handed her the drying towel and escaped out onto the roof, where he gazed at the night sky, trying to sort out his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Tohru had gone upstairs to change clothes (once again) and get ready for her meeting with Yuki in the garden. I wonder what Yuki wants to talk about, she thought, hoping it wasn't anything against Kyo. She'd suddenly found that she was actually quite fond of the cat. Especially after he had called her by her name for the first time ever…
After changing, Tohru went outside and walked to the base, where Yuki was waiting. He was bent over, sitting on a rock, gazing out into the distance as if he were lost in thought. He seemed very solemn.
"Yuki-kun?"
Yuki turned ever so slightly, peering at Tohru over his slender shoulders, taking in the sight of her within a cute yellow sweater and matching gypsy skirt. The light green shirt accented her eyes just right.
"Ah, Honda-san. Please, have a seat," he said, stately, indicating the unoccupied half of his rock. Tohru perched precariously upon the smooth surface of the rock, and looked out at the mini-strawberry field. They were just little green plants, now, surrounded by a wall of leeks on one side, and a row of soldier-like carrots on the other. Lettuce sprouted along the edges of the plot.
Tohru smiled, remembering the first day she had come out to the secret base. It had been raining, and she had protected the tiny vegetables, alongside Yuki, in the pelting rain. They were soaking wet, and Tohru had been so afraid that Yuki would catch cold…It was comical, actually, the way she had nursed over him until Hatori had come over and said that everything would be just fine.

"Honda-san?"
"Ah! Ah, um, hai!" Tohru blushed. I can't believe I spaced out like that! I'm just an idiot!
"Honda-san," Yuki said, his eyes latched onto hers, his hands covering her own with a glorious warmth, "I…I…"
Tohru blushed. Oh, no, her mind began. Please, please don't tell me what I think you're about to say.
Yuki's face was barely visible through the hanging silver hair, and what little bit one could see, what with his head bent over the way it was, was completely red.
"Honda-san…I..I love you."
Tohru sat, shocked. Tears threatened to spill over the edges of her eyes as she struggled to find something, anything, to say. She couldn't possibly admit her feelings, could she? What about Kyo? And Shigure? And Haru and Momiji and all the others? How would they react? And most of all, how would Akito take the news of her confession of love to one of the Sohmas?
"Yuki-kun, I…"
"What. In. The. Hell. Just. Happened?"
Both Tohru and Yuki's heads snapped to the side. Simultaneously, their eyes grew wide, and their faces flushed. Kyo was standing a little ways away, twitching with anger.
"Did you just tell her that you loved her?" he demanded of Yuki, his hands balling into fists at his sides and a slight growl beginning in the depths of his throat.
Yuki released Tohru's hands and stood, fighting the heat that had flowed into his face.
"What of it, baka neko? It's not as if you would have ever beat me to her anyway. There is no way that the cat can ever beat the rat. Ever. Don't you understand that yet?"
"Why you…" Kyo prepared to launch himself at the arrogant rat, his body set on a hair trigger.
"Matte, kudasai!"
It seemed that Tohru-kun had finally found her voice.
"Please," she whimpered, her voice choked with tears. "Please, don't fight. I…I have something to tell the both of you."

A/N: Okay, I know that was a very crappy ending to this chapter. However, I am having a bit of a (cough) problem…with my boyfriend and the progression of our relationship, so…my creative flow is pretty much shot. Gomen nasai. .u.u I promise that the next chapter will be much better. Please leave me any creative criticism you feel is necessary. And don't forget to review! Wait, that was kind of redundant, wasn't it. Anyway…

Until next time,
Tsukishiro Ayame