Title doesn't really have much to do with this chapter, but I like how it sounded after last chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own nor claim Fruits Basket. All rights belong to Natsuki Takaya. (I am also, obviously, not Shakespeare)

Chapter Seven: A Rose by Any Other Name

They arrived back at the house just in time to hear the phone ringing.

"I'll get it, go put that in your room."

Kyo nodded and turned to walk up the stairs. Yuki walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?...Oh, hey Shigure."

"How is he?"

"I think we've made a little progress. It'll take more than this weekend, but it's a start. I need to get him to talk about his mom a little more though."

"Well, tread lightly. If he feels cornered, he won't talk. He might get physical."

"He already has. And don't worry, we didn't break your house."

Shigure chuckled on the other end. "Well I do appreciate that, but if you had, this time would be an exception. But, I called to say that I'll probably be home sometime tomorrow afternoon."

"Alright. Hopefully we'll get more figured out between now and then. See you tomorrow."

Yuki placed the phone back in it's cradle after the dog said his goodbye, then he walked into the kitchen to figure out what to do for dinner.

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Kyo sat on the edge of his bed looking at the rose. The pot was sitting in the middle of his desk, the rose looking like it was already half dead. When Yuki called for him, he went down the stairs and into the kitchen. The rat's back was to him.

"So, got any tips on how I can revive that little thing. It doesn't look so lively to me."

Yuki jumped a little when Kyo spoke, turning around quickly. "Damnit! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Kyo laughed. "Sorry."

"Oh don't be so entertained."

"Anyway, what can I do to revive the rose?"

"Water it, make sure it gets plenty of sun. I'll need to pick up a little more fertilizer that you can put a layer of on top. All I had was that plain soil. I can get it tomorrow."

Yuki turned back around with a smile on his face. The cat ventured closer, worried that Yuki was cooking. When he got closer to the counter, he saw that the rat was chopping up leeks, carrots, and potatoes.

"Leeks. Really?"

"They're just to give a little flavor to the meat. You don't have to eat them."

"Where did you learn to not burn water?" Kyo asked as he moved right next to the other teen.

Yuki smacked him lightly in the chest. "Tohru taught me a few things. It's easy and tastes pretty good. I've done this recipe a few times for myself. That's why I chose it. It also doesn't take a long time."

"Hmm. As long as I don't have to eat those nasty abominations, I'll be good."

The rat chuckled. "No, I won't make you eat them. I just want you to see that they do have benefits to cooking."

"I'll be the judge of that. So, is there anything I can help with?"

Yuki smiled again. "Yeah, you can get the water in this pot," he tapped his finger against a stew pot, "and put it on the stove on high."

Kyo picked up the pot and walked to the sink. "How full?"

"About two thirds of the way."

The cat filled the pot before putting it on the stove and twisting the knob to turn on the heat.

"Grab the salt and shake a little into the water. Once it starts to boil, we'll put the carrots and potatoes in there."

Kyo nodded and added salt to the pot. Once the water was boiling, Yuki handed him the cutting board with the chopped vegetables and Kyo scraped them into the pot.

"Put the lid on it."

Kyo did and then leaned against the counter to watch Yuki put rice into the cooker. After that, the rat walked over to Kyo and sat up on the counter next to him.

"Now we wait."

"Smells pretty good. Tohru would be proud that you didn't burn the water."

Yuki laughed. "Yeah. She was really patient when she was teaching me though, so if I had failed, she would feel guilty that she had told me something wrong. She is Tohru after all."

"She is. I can totally see her doing that too."

They both laughed. Kyo looked up at the silver haired boy. "I'm kind of ruining the moment here, but you're gonna ask more about my mom, aren't you?"

Yuki gave him a sad look. "Yeah. That is your main issue. Your dad's a jackass, so I don't think wasting more time on him would be all that beneficial. You can bring up the things you want to talk about, so if I ask something you don't want to address yet, just tell me."

Kyo nodded. "Thanks. I really never expected you to be so understanding. I never thought anyone would ever be able to understand."

Yuki put a hand on the cat's shoulder. "I do, and I'm glad to help."

They talked about how to care for Kyo's new rose, to how easy it was to be bad at cooking, all through dinner.

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After dinner was cleaned up and the dishes were done, the two teens sat facing each other in the living room. Kyo was still nervous, but he did actually want to talk to Yuki. After the last few days, he'd seen that he really was genuinely trying to help him.

"I, uh, I don't know where to start."

"Well, do you wanna start with the not so good stuff, and save the good memories for the end to lighten up?"

"We could do it like that, yeah."

"Well, then, what's the first darker memory you want to talk about?"

The orange haired boy thought a moment. "Probably the first time I saw my parents fighting because of me."

"They let you see them? Seriously?"

"Well, mom didn't want me seeing that. Dad didn't give a shit. As to be expected. But yeah, it was the middle of the night, and I woke up during a storm. It scared me. I was probably 4 or 5. I went down the hall to see if they were awake and I heard yelling. Then I heard my dad saying things about how she should be ashamed that she brought a monster like me into this world. When I heard that, I walked as quietly as I could and I got close to their door. It wasn't shut all way, and I saw my mom hit the floor."

"He hit her? What a pig!"

Kyo nodded. "That was the first time I realized that I truly hated him. If anyone was to blame for her death, it would be him. I didn't ask to be born. I didn't ask for all of the hate from our "relatives." I just wanted to be a family."

"I'm sorry you saw that. It's awful. How often did you see them fighting?"

"Once every couple weeks. I'm sure there was a lot more that I wasn't home to see. Mom always had bruises on her arms and around her wrists. She'd occasionally have one on her face. If he went for her face, at least he was smart enough to get it into her hairline. But I always saw it when she'd pick me up to see if I still had my bracelet."

"Okay, if I ever see your father, I don't know if I'll want to restrain myself from smacking him. And I have a feeling the more we talk the more I'll see how awful he is."

"The abuse wasn't the worst I'm sure. He drank a lot too. Especially in the months leading up to her death. Like, there were times that in a drunken rage, I'm almost positive that he forced her to do stuff. I don't want to say it, but I'm sure you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean, and I wouldn't want to say it either."

"Want to know what I think?"

"Hm?"

"I don't think she killed herself. I think he did it because with her gone, there would be no one to protect me from him. Or at least that's what I think he thought."

"Because after her death sensei took you in."

"Exactly. He wasn't expecting someone to want me."

"So you really think your father could've done something like that?"

"I do. I mean you've seen him. He's a pretty imposing figure. And with her mental state from his abuse, it would've been easy for him to do. I just never knew what I could do to prove it. I still don't know what I could do. I mean, get him drunk enough and he might talk, but who would get him drunk? Last time I saw him he smacked me for being in his sight."

"You should tell Hatori or Shigure you think he did it. I mean, Hatori has erased people's memories. He might know how to get into someone's mind to see what they've done."

"Holy crap! I forgot about that! Shigure went to see Hatori this weekend right? So he'll be driving the mutt home?"

"I figured he would, yeah."

"Will you talk to Hatori with me?"

Yuki reached across the table and laid his hand over Kyo's. "Of course I will."

Kyo smiled. "If we can figure out the truth-"

"Maybe you can stop blaming yourself."

"Yeah."

This chapter went in a bit of a different direction than I was expecting haha! And it was a lot more dialogue focused. Let me know your thoughts! I might think up a sequel rather than leaving it off to find out the truth. Or at least extend out the number of chapters. So yeah, thanks for reading :3 Review please!