"And Then." for "Fruits Basket"
Disclaimer: I don't own the FB characters and whatnot, but this is my little story, so please no one steal it. *cue darkness with sinister wavy red lines* Or I'll have to sic Kagura on you!
Chapter Two: Clouds
The evening sky was a mellow golden color fading to violet, with striking pink and lilac clouds lit up by the setting sun. A warm breeze that carried trilling birdsong as well as wafting scents of roses and grass brushed over Kyo where he lay stretched out on the roof of Shigure's house. It was his place of solitude-his sanctuary. He wasn't really sure why he liked it so much. Maybe it was just the cat in him that liked high, lonely spots. Arms folded behind his head, his focus was on the first evening stars starting to poke through the veil of day. His thoughts, though, were elsewhere.
"I want to go to college with you, too."
Those words kept playing over and over again, like a scratched CD in his head.
"I want to go to college with you, too."
Kyo sighed. He had meant it, what he said, and everything else that had been in those words that had not come out of his mouth. Kyo watched a white bird flutter by overhead, and his train of thought changed again. It had been about a year since his deep, dark secret had been revealed to her. He remembered the disbelief and shock that had filled her pretty blue eyes when she saw. The utter horror at what she was looking at. And, like a coward, he had run away. Run away from her.
That night had tortured him. In the darkness, in the drenching rain, he had tortured himself. He was a monster. A monster nobody could get close to. Because he was the cat from the zodiac story, he was born with the cat's evil spirit-the demonic, hate-twisted creature he became whenever he didn't wear his black and white beads. That was the darker side of his curse. He had never intended to let her see it. That expression on her face had filled him with bottomless despair. The one person he had ever managed to get close to, the only one he felt could really understand him, looking at him with fear.
But even though he ran away, there, in the storm, she came to him. She came to him, even though she was shaking and could barely stand, spattered with mud from head to toe. That terrified look was still in her eyes, but she came to him. Even though he was a gruesome creature, not even remotely human.
"Tohru." He pictured her in his mind, the way she looked when the dawn finally broke through the night's storm with brilliant rays. She told him the truth. Even though she was afraid, she still wanted to be close to him. She was willing to accept him, even as he was, where no one else ever had before. Not even his own mother. He remembered the choking joy that had filled his soul at that single moment. He was finally accepted. All his life, he'd been an outcast. His own mother rejected him, even if she never said it, or showed it. The kids at school always steered clear of him, and talked about him behind his back. The Sohma family, too, wanted nothing to do with him. They all looked down on him with disgust. He was the cat. He had no place among them.
But under the strangest circumstances, Tohru came into his life. She was a bumbling, clueless space cadet who was so eager to please and humble it was almost obnoxious. But she also had that goofy-looking grin, and those big blue eyes that seemed to radiate pure happiness. Whenever those eyes were hurt or sad, Kyo just wanted to hit something.
Somehow, that silly fool managed to see past what he was. Even though he'd said and done awful things to her in the past, she never held it against him. In the rain, her compassion caused him to change back to his human self. Kyo thought there was nothing quite so beautiful as that single moment when the clouds cleared and the sun shone down on them. Nothing quite so wonderful as putting his arms around her, to hold her in an embrace, even if it was only for a second before the zodiac curse transformed him into the cat.
Kyo sat up on the shingles. The air had cooled down, and a deep blue was overtaking the sky. Only a rosy glow remained on the western horizon, and soon it would be gone. The last remnants of that day. Kyo's thoughts turned to dinnertime. The thought of Tohru going to the same university he was going to made him glad. It really did. But knowing that.that rat was going to be there too? Kyo made a noise of disgust. He guessed he really shouldn't be so surprised. It seemed that Fate or whatever had stuck him with that sissy pretty-boy for eternity. As long as Tohru was there, though, it didn't seem quite so bad.
Kyo sat there on the roof for a while longer, thinking, until night was in full swing. He found the white-faced moon coming up over the black mountains in the distance. Then, a random thought occurred to him. It was kind of stupid, but it kept bothering him.
"No, that's not true," he admitted to himself. It would be bad. He wasn't an idiot. He'd seen Yuki's face at dinner, talking to Tohru. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed it, either. Just as the sun and the moon fought for possession of the sky, he and his rival now had even more reason to fight each other. And only one could win.
Author's Notes: Sigh. Another chapter done. It's really late, so hopefully my failing brain hasn't affected my writing. Much. I know it's kind of wordy, but that's just my style. Speaking of which, I know that Kyo has a tendency to use a somewhat more, shall we say, colorful vocabulary. At least, as far as the English version (which was dubbed pretty well, I might add) goes. I'm not a big fan of swearing, and I don't approve of it either. Personally, I feel it makes people sound either stupid or like gutter trash, or both. But anyway, I'm keeping it out. Kyo will just have to find more intelligent ways of expressing himself. ^_^ Also, as you can see, there's going to be some escalated conflict between Yuki and Kyo. Should be interesting.
Disclaimer: I don't own the FB characters and whatnot, but this is my little story, so please no one steal it. *cue darkness with sinister wavy red lines* Or I'll have to sic Kagura on you!
Chapter Two: Clouds
The evening sky was a mellow golden color fading to violet, with striking pink and lilac clouds lit up by the setting sun. A warm breeze that carried trilling birdsong as well as wafting scents of roses and grass brushed over Kyo where he lay stretched out on the roof of Shigure's house. It was his place of solitude-his sanctuary. He wasn't really sure why he liked it so much. Maybe it was just the cat in him that liked high, lonely spots. Arms folded behind his head, his focus was on the first evening stars starting to poke through the veil of day. His thoughts, though, were elsewhere.
"I want to go to college with you, too."
Those words kept playing over and over again, like a scratched CD in his head.
"I want to go to college with you, too."
Kyo sighed. He had meant it, what he said, and everything else that had been in those words that had not come out of his mouth. Kyo watched a white bird flutter by overhead, and his train of thought changed again. It had been about a year since his deep, dark secret had been revealed to her. He remembered the disbelief and shock that had filled her pretty blue eyes when she saw. The utter horror at what she was looking at. And, like a coward, he had run away. Run away from her.
That night had tortured him. In the darkness, in the drenching rain, he had tortured himself. He was a monster. A monster nobody could get close to. Because he was the cat from the zodiac story, he was born with the cat's evil spirit-the demonic, hate-twisted creature he became whenever he didn't wear his black and white beads. That was the darker side of his curse. He had never intended to let her see it. That expression on her face had filled him with bottomless despair. The one person he had ever managed to get close to, the only one he felt could really understand him, looking at him with fear.
But even though he ran away, there, in the storm, she came to him. She came to him, even though she was shaking and could barely stand, spattered with mud from head to toe. That terrified look was still in her eyes, but she came to him. Even though he was a gruesome creature, not even remotely human.
"Tohru." He pictured her in his mind, the way she looked when the dawn finally broke through the night's storm with brilliant rays. She told him the truth. Even though she was afraid, she still wanted to be close to him. She was willing to accept him, even as he was, where no one else ever had before. Not even his own mother. He remembered the choking joy that had filled his soul at that single moment. He was finally accepted. All his life, he'd been an outcast. His own mother rejected him, even if she never said it, or showed it. The kids at school always steered clear of him, and talked about him behind his back. The Sohma family, too, wanted nothing to do with him. They all looked down on him with disgust. He was the cat. He had no place among them.
But under the strangest circumstances, Tohru came into his life. She was a bumbling, clueless space cadet who was so eager to please and humble it was almost obnoxious. But she also had that goofy-looking grin, and those big blue eyes that seemed to radiate pure happiness. Whenever those eyes were hurt or sad, Kyo just wanted to hit something.
Somehow, that silly fool managed to see past what he was. Even though he'd said and done awful things to her in the past, she never held it against him. In the rain, her compassion caused him to change back to his human self. Kyo thought there was nothing quite so beautiful as that single moment when the clouds cleared and the sun shone down on them. Nothing quite so wonderful as putting his arms around her, to hold her in an embrace, even if it was only for a second before the zodiac curse transformed him into the cat.
Kyo sat up on the shingles. The air had cooled down, and a deep blue was overtaking the sky. Only a rosy glow remained on the western horizon, and soon it would be gone. The last remnants of that day. Kyo's thoughts turned to dinnertime. The thought of Tohru going to the same university he was going to made him glad. It really did. But knowing that.that rat was going to be there too? Kyo made a noise of disgust. He guessed he really shouldn't be so surprised. It seemed that Fate or whatever had stuck him with that sissy pretty-boy for eternity. As long as Tohru was there, though, it didn't seem quite so bad.
Kyo sat there on the roof for a while longer, thinking, until night was in full swing. He found the white-faced moon coming up over the black mountains in the distance. Then, a random thought occurred to him. It was kind of stupid, but it kept bothering him.
"No, that's not true," he admitted to himself. It would be bad. He wasn't an idiot. He'd seen Yuki's face at dinner, talking to Tohru. It wasn't the first time he'd noticed it, either. Just as the sun and the moon fought for possession of the sky, he and his rival now had even more reason to fight each other. And only one could win.
Author's Notes: Sigh. Another chapter done. It's really late, so hopefully my failing brain hasn't affected my writing. Much. I know it's kind of wordy, but that's just my style. Speaking of which, I know that Kyo has a tendency to use a somewhat more, shall we say, colorful vocabulary. At least, as far as the English version (which was dubbed pretty well, I might add) goes. I'm not a big fan of swearing, and I don't approve of it either. Personally, I feel it makes people sound either stupid or like gutter trash, or both. But anyway, I'm keeping it out. Kyo will just have to find more intelligent ways of expressing himself. ^_^ Also, as you can see, there's going to be some escalated conflict between Yuki and Kyo. Should be interesting.