A/N: It's a chapter! Sorry it took a little longer this time-I got REALLY sick D8. BUT I'm better now, so...here it is. I'm trying to do this crazy thing called weekly updates, which we all know isn't going to happen, but if it does, wouldn't that be awesome? At best you can expect ch 6 by the week after next, these chappies take me a bit to type.
Some interesting stuff comes to light in this chapter, and I wonder what you guys will think...
...and I don't own Fruits Basket.
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AYN FIVE: FRIENDS
Why was Kyo here, anyway?
Tohru looked uncomfortable, like she wanted to say something about what had happened like she really wanted Yuki to be okay, like she wanted to ask him how he was doing—
Tohru looked worried.
Why, even now did that annoy him? Kyo was so used to Yuki winning he'd almost challenged the rat to a fight.
Almost.
Then he'd seen the bracelet on Yuki's wrist—those black and white beads Kyo had hated and treasured for so long that to see them on Yuki gave him immense relief and panic at the same time.
The mood was awkward too, especially after the way things had been left off when Yuki'd been sent away.
All these things just annoyed Kyo, so why was he here?
"Ah…Sohma-kun…" Tohru struggled to find something to say to defuse the giant bomb she'd dropped on Yuki by showing up here.
Oh yeah—that's why.
"Yuki doesn't have much time to talk," Hatori reminded them all, "I need to check his lungs so he can go back to class."
"R-Right, I just, um…are you okay?" she asked Yuki in that concerned voice only Tohru made sound real.
Hatori was gently guiding Yuki to sit on the bed in nurse's office. Kyo made sure to stay as far out of the way as was physically possible without leaving the room.
He wasn't going to leave her alone with that damn rat, not after coming all the way out to this miserably cold place.
"I…I'm fine." Yuki mumbled, sitting on the table as Hatori had motioned him to, Kyo noticed that not only did Yuki not look "fine," he also wasn't looking at Tohru.
As Hatori lifted Yuki's shirt to place the stethoscope underneath, Tohru turned around and stared at the ceiling. Was it just Kyo, or was her face red?
Damn it all, this was annoying!
"S-So how is school…here?" Tohru asked awkwardly.
"A-Alright." Yuki replied.
"Take a deep breath." Hatori ordered. Kyo watched out of the corner of his eyes as Hatori ran through his routine and Tohru's eyes moved from the ceiling to the floor, and as she began fiddling with her thumbs.
"All done." Hatori announced, causing Tohru to spin around and Kyo to look up. "Seems you're doing alright. As long as you don't over-exert yourself the cold weather shouldn't affect you too much." Yuki just nodded and Hatori began packing up his medical supplies.
Tohru looked uncertain again—of what to say or do. Kyo was pretty sure she'd wait until after Yuki'd left and get all depressed for saying nothing again at this rate.
"Didn't you have something to say or did you drag me out her just so you could check on this damn rat like his nanny or something?" Kyo demanded.
"Now is hardly the time to get violent Kyo." Hatori reprimanded.
Kyo tsked and turned to look at the wall. Even that seemed more active than Yuki right now.
This was seriously…
"U-Um Sohma-kun…if you ever want to come back to Shigure-san's, like on your birthday or something you…can, you know that, right?" Tohru asked. Yuki just nodded.
…pissing him off.
"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU!" Kyo shouted, slamming his fist into the wall and whirling on Yuki.
"Kyo—" Tohru began, but Kyo wasn't finished.
Not by a long shot.
"You just gonna sit there and nod like some kind of loser, you damn rat? HUH! Is this what I challenged you to all those fights for—to make you into some kind of zombie!"
"I didn't ask to lose you stupid cat." Yuki replied angrily, glaring up at Kyo, "That's just your foolish assumption since there's no other way you could've beaten me."
That's more like it. That's the damn rat I know. "Is that a challenge? Bring it! I'll take you down anytime!"
"Kyo!" Tohru protested, but the gears had already been set in motion.
Yuki stood, "You foolish cat, you just don't learn, do you? You can't beat me."
"Oh, yeah? WANNA BET!" And Kyo lunged at Yuki and Yuki dodged and turned to retaliate and it was like old times, like…
"Kyo! Sohma-kun!"
…like Yuki'd never—but no, he was hesitating, something wasn't right Kyo aimed again and managed to get a punch in before Hatori grabbed him from behind and started to pull him away. The punch not only landed—it landed Yuki on the floor.
"Sohma-kun!" Tohru cried.
"Damn rat…" Kyo spat as Yuki sat on the floor, a hand on the cheek Kyo had slugged, "WHAT WAS THE POINT IN BEATING YOU IF YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO FIGHT TO GET IT BACK!"
A silence settled on the nurse's office with nothing but Kyo's echoing words to break it. If anyone else had been in the room besides them they would've called security, something told Kyo from the back of his mind.
Kyo didn't give a shit.
"I'll kill you, you damn rat. If you keep this up, I'll kill you." And with that he shrugged off Hatori and stormed out of the nurse's office and down the hallway. Let Hatori deal with the damn rat. What did Kyo care?
It wasn't worth it to fight someone who didn't even care about living.
Dammit all, it had to be the bracelet's fault.
Otherwise he and Yuki wouldn't have anything in common.
Not anything.
x—o—x—o—x
Yuki couldn't get Kyo's words out of his head. There had once been a time when Yuki would've given anything to trade places with Kyo in order to escape the Sohma cage.
He'd never thought "anything" meant Tohru.
It wasn't a matter of how Yuki felt about her—it was how Tohru felt about him. She still didn't even call him by his first name, while Kyo…
The worst part was that Tohru hadn't even realized what had changed. Especially since everyone else had. Except maybe Kyo. Yuki didn't really understand why Kyo would want Yuki to fight to be a member of the Zodiac. It's not like the stupid cat would take the bracelet and its curse back willingly. Ever since he'd wound up on the ground looking up at Kyo's wide-eyed face Yuki'd known.
He'd never win a fight against Kyo again.
After all, what was the point? Either way Kyo had won. Kyo had Tohru.
And Yuki? Yuki had no one.
That was when he thought of Yun-chan.
That was when he walked back into his classroom and his eyes went wide to see the dark-haired girl sitting in the second row near the door. He'd forgotten.
He'd completely forgotten to tell Hatori about Maibara-san.
"Hey Yuki-kun." She greeted him cheerfully, her cheer shifting to confusion when she spotted the mark on his jaw Yuki was sure he had from Kyo's punch. "Are you okay?"
Are you okay, are you okay, why is that all anyone ever asks me?
Am I really that pathetic?
"Yeah. I'm fine." Yuki replied numbly.
"Freaked-out, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional?" She teased and when Yuki looked at her questioningly she just waved a hand and said, "Never mind. Hey—don't run from the classroom when the lunch bell rings, okay? I have a surprise for you."
Now Yuki was worried. "What—" he began, but the bell rang before he could finish.
"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you what it was." Maibara-san reminded him as Professor Shinjuya ordered Yuki to take his seat.
At this rate Yuki would never be able to pay attention to his lessons.
o—x—o—x—o
Yuki had no idea what Maibara-san was planning. He also had no idea why she was making him wait in his seat. Or why she wasn't saying anything. Like what they were waiting for, or why she was so energetic when she'd been sick just yesterday, or why she hadn't asked why he'd turned into a rat last Saturday.
Especially that last one.
"Maibara-san…can I ask you something?" Yuki questioned.
"Only if it won't ruin the surprise." She agreed skeptically.
"Why…haven't you said anything?"
"About what?"
Yuki just stared at her. "About me."
"What about you?"
"A-About…me and…" Did she forget? Did that blonde chick get to Hatori before him after all? "…Saturday?" he finished hesitantly.
"Oh that. Um…if you…don't want to tutor me anymore, I'll understand. I know how slow I am with those proofs and I get how that'd be frustrating." Maibara-san admitted sadly.
She doesn't remember. Hatori must've—
"And," Maibara-san added, interrupting Yuki's thoughts, "If you're worried don't be. I won't tell anyone where the rat came from."
She does remember! "But why…?" Yuki asked.
"Even if people would believe me I wouldn't go around telling them my friends' secrets."
'Friend?' Right, because Yuki hadn't tried to use her and throw her away like a…
Well, like a rat.
"Oh, there we go!" Maibara-san exclaimed, jumping up and racing past Yuki.
This isn't possible. There just can't be…
"I don't think I properly introduced you two before." Maibara-san announced, having brought someone over to his desk.
That 'someone' just happened to be Yun-chan.
…anyone else like Tohru.
x—o—x—o—x
While Kyo had found that morning's hospital visit to be socially awkward Yuki thought lunch that day was enormously more so.
And that fight he could win.
Yun-chan, the Yun-chan was sitting only a few feet from him and he wasn't going completely mental. He needed to think carefully about what to say—he really didn't want her to think he was any more of a freak than she already did. He also wanted to learn why he had had such a sudden and bizarre infatuation with her from the moment he'd met her—surely that wasn't normal. It was like he'd—
Yuki almost choked on his soda.
"Y-Yuki-kun, are you okay?" Maibara-san asked. Yuki just nodded. "Swallow wrong?" Yuki nodded again.
Yun-chan made a face, "That sucks—I hate it when that happens."
Did she just compliment me? Yuki wondered. No, no, she was agreeing with me, that's different. "Thanks." Yuki squeaked out.
"For what?" Yun-chan asked, clearly confused.
"Well—for—I—um…." She's talking to me!
As if she could see what he was thinking Maibara-san frowned. Yun-chan raised an eyebrow. "Don't hurt yourself." She muttered.
She cares if I hurt myself? Does that mean she cares about me? I really hope she—
"Yuki-kun?" Maibara-san interrupted his thoughts, "How's your food?"
"What am I doing?" were the next words out of Yuki's mouth. His next thought was: Did I just say that out loud?
Yun-chan's laughter confirmed this and sent all of Yuki's senses into high-alert. "You're eating lunch with us, doofus. Man, Mai, I know you said he was more normal than I thought he was, but this is almost too normal!"
Maibara-san smiled nervously, "Y-Yeah…"
Yuki didn't notice. All he could hear, see, feel, taste, smell, was Yun-chan's laugh, the way dimples had formed in her cheeks, her gently curving lips, her—
"Wh-What're you doing?" Yun-chan asked, snapping Yuki back to the present and the fact that he was leaning halfway across the table towards her.
What was he thinking?
But her breath as she spoke, as she laughed it smelled so…
What was he doing? Why was he still leaning forward?
…strongly of small, dark spaces, of…
Snap out of it!
…sewers?
"Yuki-kun, can I have a word?" Maibara-san asked politely enough despite the fact that she was now dragging him rather forcefully into the hallway. In as quiet a voice as she looked able to manage she asked, "What are you doing?"
"Kissing her." Yuki answered dumbly.
"You don't….Remember the rat we saw Saturday?"
Yuki nodded slowly. Of course he remembered, he wasn't stupid, the rat was him.
"Don't you think that rat will come back if you kiss her?"
As soon as Yuki's senses caught up with Maibara-san's questions he wanted simultaneously to smack himself and to hurl.
Oh yes, he was stupid.
It was like he'd turned into one of his fangirls—the way he was mooning over Yun-chan was exactly the sort of thing they always did over him. It was disgusting.
So why did it keep happening to him?
"Why don't you—" Maibara-san began, but was interrupted by a loud bell announcing their lunch break was over.
Just as well—Yuki'd almost closed the whole damn school.
Maibara-san smiled sadly, patted him on the shoulder, and went back into the classroom to help Yun-chan clean up.
Yuki couldn't even remember if he'd eaten anything.
o—x—o—x—o
Hisaya Yunari, age 17.
Birthday: June 10th.
Student Grades: Average.
Student Conduct: Excellent.
…Her student file told Yuki nothing about why this girl caused him to do such inexplicable things because of her.
Such as sneak into the guidance counselor's office after school just to look at her student file. Which was effectively useless to Yuki, although he was glad to know her full name. And her birthday was coming up—he should buy her a present, but what would she like?
And there he was again, thinking about doing something strange for this girl he hardly knew.
Or to her.
Never mind that though, if Yuki wanted to do something useful he should tank Maibara-san for stopping him earlier, during lunch. The rat in him would've indeed "come back." True, a kiss never changed any zodiac member as far as he knew, but Yuki was sure the shock of touching Yun-chan would change him and if not, the things he would've tried after the kiss would have for sure.
He'd thought of doing all those things with poor Maibara-san still in the room?
Disgusting.
Oh well.
Her file says "Excellent Conduct"—Yuki wondered if any of her professors would know what she'd want for her birthday.
x—o—x—o—x
Nakira couldn't understand it. Why was Maibara still keeping Yuki's secret? He'd used her to get close to Yunari and yet she still covered for him. Worse still, Yuki hadn't said a word to Hatori even though she'd been sure he would.
Even the stuff she kept slipping into Yunari's lunch wasn't working the way it was supposed to. Yuki was supposed to feel such a strong reaction to the stuff that he'd come onto Yunari without thinking, revealing his secret to the school or at the very least to Yunari herself. It was the rat version of cat nip, for crying out loud.
So why wasn't it working?
Nakira sat on her apartment floor, grinding her teeth together and trying to understand where her plan went wrong.
She'd just have to increase the amount of rat nip in Yunari's food—there was nothing else to it. And if that didn't work, well…
…She'd just have to make sure she had an audience the next time she pushed Yuki into a girl.
o—x—o—x—o
It wasn't until Yuki was home with Yun-chan's school file and a box of chicken wings that his brain found him again. He sank into the chair by his tiny kitchen table and stared at the file as though it were an alien growth on his hand.
Why had he stolen her file from the faculty office?
Better yet, why had he gone in there in the first place? What was it about Yun-chan that made him act so strangely? Was this—and he shuddered to even think it—how his fangirls felt?
No wonder they were so crazy.
…And then there was this morning, with forgetting to tell Hatori about Maibara-san, with Kyo shouting at him, with…her.
" 'What was the point in beating you if you're never going to fight to get it back,' huh?" Yuki asked himself aloud, repeating Kyo's words from earlier. "Stupid cat. I never wanted any of that in the first place."
Suddenly Yuki wondered why he'd never just let Kyo win. If he'd truly wanted to escape the Sohma cage, why hadn't he just let Kyo win? Perhaps some part of him had always known he'd never escape.
After all, here he was the outcast and he felt more caged than he ever had when he'd been a true member of the Zodiac. He had such limited contact with the others now that he might as well have been shipped to some deserted island in the South Pacific.
When people had to tag along with your doctor on his check-up just to see you, you knew you were being isolated.
And then there was Maibara-san, the ultimate irony. Yuki was suddenly attracted to Yun-chan and Maibara-san, who just happened to be Yun-chan's best friend coincidently had no problems with him being a rat and was even willing to help him get to know Yun-chan.
It was all just so…
Yuki felt as though a light bulb was slowly turning on inside his head. It was all just so easy, so convenient.
Too convenient, in fact.
Sometimes Yuki felt like kicking himself for being such a fool. Of course it was easy, of course it was convenient—that was the point.
Why hadn't he seen it before?
That girl with the bleached blonde hair wasn't the real threat sent to keep an eye on Yuki—it was Maibara-san. Why else would she react so calmly when she saw him transform? How else would she have known to hide him from sight and help him home?
It was all part of his cage.
Make him feel more at home, more comfortable, make him drop his guard so that the grip of his prison keeper could tighten even more.
Yuki wasn't sure how he'd missed it, but he wasn't going to be fooled any longer.
He knew the perfect disguise for an enemy was that of a friend.
NEXT: VULNERABLE
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