Disclaimers on the characters of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. I don't own them, so don't sue.

Note that this takes place after the Fruits Basket manga series. There will definitely be changes since I won't be following the original story (almost entirely…). Also, this is fast forward yet again. Because time jumps by authors are awesome.


Purple,

By Winterwing3000


Purple () – plums

"Kampai!" Everyone chorused with their cups raised in the air. Kisa smiled as she drank the cup of juice from their toast. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Hiro wrinkle his nose at the taste of the grape juice. He never did like drinking that, as she recalled.

It was the evening of their graduation day from high school. They were celebrating at Shigure's home. Almost everyone came tonight, Kisa realized, as she sipped her cup of juice. The usual lives of the party—Kyo-san, Yuki-san, Tohru-onee-chan, and Shigure-oji-san—were in charge of organizing the event. Kagura-onee-chan, who was hassling Tohru about her time in university, came as well. Momiji-nii-chan was also standing closely to Tohru with a beaming yet slightly sad smile on his face. Ayame-oji-san was chatting animatedly with his younger brother, Yuki-san, and had an arm slung around the family doctor, Hatori-oji-san, who even closed his clinic early to attend the celebration party.

Her tawny eyes swiveled to the small person standing rather timidly next to Shigure-oji-san—their former master—Akito-san. She was happily married to her older cousin now but still kept to herself. Kisa remembered the past years, living with the curse, and suddenly being free of it. It was a companion of sorts as she grew and although it was a relief to no longer carry that burden, it was just as much painful to part. A smile grew on her lips when their eyes made contact. The former tigress waved subtly and Kisa was happy when Akito returned the gesture.

Suddenly, Tohru-onee-chan came over and wrapped her arms around the two graduates. She cheered merrily, "You both have grown so much! I'm so happy for you both!"

Kisa's smile grew and snuggled into the hug. "Arigatou onee-chan!"

Hiro harrumphed from the skinship and crossed his arm, making Kisa reminiscent of their youth when he tried to appear annoyed but was secretly please. "Neh, get your arms off me obachan."

"Heh?" Tohru bounced back in shock at being addressed in such a manner. "Obachan? Oh no, I can't be having wrinkles yet, can I?"

"Oi, who you callin' obachan?" Kyo snapped at the younger boy who now almost stood head to head against him.

Hiro smirked. "Oh nothing."

The cat vessel growled and Kisa giggled. Her attention diverted to the corner where two of the older family members were standing side by side, nearly shoulder to shoulder. Rin-onee-san grew her hair out slightly from the shorter crop a few years ago. It now hung freely past her shoulder blades in layers. She wore the typical black and silver jewelry, but when she brushed back a piece of hair from her face, Kisa saw an unfamiliar ring perched on her left hand and her eyes grew fractionally wider.

She couldn't help but feel at little curious when she saw that Haru-nii-chan, no, Kisa shook her head vehemently, Hatsuharu-kun, seemed not to mind the change. The former lovers turned friends were laughing and speaking in hushed tones as if they had never separated. They had lingering touches here and there, but she saw nothing more than a familial kinship.

As if sensing her wonder-filled stare, Hatsuharu turned his head as Rin laughed at something he said earlier and landed his gaze on her. He smiled briefly at her and said something to his former girlfriend. Rin cocked her head and looked at Kisa as well.

Feeling slightly pressed by the attention she was suddenly receiving, Kisa ducked her head to hide a blush and blended into the family bustle as everyone moved to the back porch with desserts and some smokes. She found herself walking with Hiro, who looked fairly bored.

He gave her a sidelong glance at the same time she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. Immediately, his hands fell from being crossed at his chest to being limp at his sides. But his dark brown eyes became apologetic as he greeted her, "Hey, Kisa-chan."

She smiled blithely. "Hiro-kun… How are you?"

"Good," he answered hesitantly as he shuffled his sock-covered toe against floor. "I'm… sorry."

They were the only ones left standing by the doorway as the other family members sat down on the wooden veranda and continued their conversations with a sliced watermelon. She gave him a puzzled look before it dawned on her. Kisa shook her golden mane, her messy pony tail swishing from side to side.

"Don't be. It's already been half a year… I've learned to accept that sometimes what begins might come to an end. And I want you to be happy too, if you weren't with me," she told him.

The sheep boy gave her one of his rare sincere smiles. "I was happy with you. You've shown me a lot of things and we had a lot of good times together… But it just wasn't that kind of happiness, you know?"

She felt her lips turn upward in thought and shook her head, not understanding what he meant. "I don't really know… but I think I will, soon…"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "I don't think you'll have to look very far to find it. Oi, Rin!"

The older female paused in mid step and turned her head over her shoulder. She smirked at the younger cousin. "Hiro."

"I'll talk to you later." Hiro said with a short wave as he made his way over to the horse-girl. Kisa nodded with a small smile but became perplexed once more. Hiro had his own charisma that always left her stumped, sometimes more so when he learned how to speak in riddles from their older cousin, Momiji-nii-chan. She jumped and squeaked when a warm hand rested on her shoulder.

Hatsuharu stepped into her field of vision as he took a place by her side. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

She laughed lightly. "Just a little bit. Have you finished your final exams?"

The bi-tonal man gave her a thoughtful hum and shrugged. "I finished, but I can't say for sure what my results are."

"I'm sure you did well," Kisa told him encouragingly as she placed a reassuring hand on his upper right arm. He didn't say anything in response to her words and stared in front of them. When her hand slipped down, he grabbed it and tucked her to his side.

She curled instinctively into his one-armed embrace, with her head seeking the crevice of his neck. She missed the warmth he offered each time they met. The safety and calmness of his presence enveloped her. She closed her eyes and released a sigh. All tension from her body evaporated.

Rustling reached her ears and she felt the air shift in front of her face. Peeking with one eye opened, she let out a gasp of delight.

"Plums!" Kisa turned her eyes from the plastic bag of summer time fruits to her cousin's face. "When did you buy them? They weren't in stock when I went to the mart last week!"

She saw the lit side of his face lift with a short smile. "I just bought them today—fresh from the farm the lady told me. It's my gift for your graduation. Omedetou, Kisa."

Kisa felt a smile bloom as she took the clear plastic bag. "Arigatou~"

"Betsu ni." Hatsuharu slid down the wall of the house and plopped onto the hardwood that was recently polished. However, he currently forgot the fact that the young woman was still in his arm's embrace and pulled her down with him. Kisa winced when she felt her knees bang not so nicely against the floor. She frowned and rubbed the reddened knees.

Hatsuharu frowned as well and drew her easily into the space between his legs. His gloveless hand brushed against the skin of her knees. The coolness from his metal rings helped dull the stinging ache. "Gomen…"

"It's okay. I'm fine. It doesn't hurt anymore," she told him.

"Hmm," he said passively. His half-lidded eyes concentrated at the skin across her knees. Then he bent his neck and placed a kiss on each pinkish wound.

A wild blush blazed across her cheeks and her eyes grew wide. Kisa's head swung back and forth, checking to see if the others were looking at them and found none, before she stuttered, "W-What are you d-doing, Hatsuharu-kun?"

"Kissing your knees?" he stated, all while cocking his head to the side as if he were confused by her question. Wasn't it obvious? He was pretty sure that she had her fair share of kisses with Hiro. Then again, Kisa was still a very pure and shy person. He almost smirked as he noticed the crimson on her face.

Kisa fidgeted nervously with the fruits in her lap. "Uhm, but w-why?"

His dark eyes blinked, as if reflecting for his actions and for an answer. He shrugged again. "Because I wanted to."

"Oh…" This time, Kisa blinked in surprise at his response. Then they lapsed into a silence of comfort.

Kisa, although very familiar with the physical attention and affection from Hatsuharu, never thought she'd feel her heart skip a beat when he kissed her knees. Ever since she began to move on from her relationship with Hiro, she felt lavished by Hatsuharu's presence. He cared for her whenever she needed someone to comfort her, to cry on, to laugh with. He never failed to be there when she was in trouble. Each time they met, she became more eager for the next meeting and more eager for the happiness that she experienced during their encounters. She became more aware of things about him that she never noticed before.

She saw that he had a habit of standing more on his left foot than his right foot when leaning against a wall. He preferred drinks that were sweet than bland, like smoothies over tea. When he read, he could only do it while sitting in a stiff chair else he would fall asleep. When he was nervous, he would play with his wristband or twist the rings on his fingers.

It was the odd things that she remembered, but she felt that others didn't notice. It made her feel close to him, as if she were privy to his secrets. And she was sure that he knew most of her deep and darkest secrets as well. She was happy that they shared their hurt and happiness. She was happy that she could make him smile since he was mostly known for his deadpanned remarks and laidback expressions.

Most of all, she was happy that he was with her no matter where they were.

"Hatsuharu-kun…?" Kisa rested her head on his shoulder as her golden eyes lifted them to his visage.

Hatsuharu turned his head to the side and met her eyes with his black ones. "Hm?"

"Thank you," she said and repeated, "Thank you so much."

He paused at her words, wondering why she was thanking him all of a sudden and then he saw the shine in her eyes. They were clearer than diamonds, as if a revelation dawned on her. He felt the edge of his mouth tilt. His hand around her waist tightened and brought her, if it was even possible, closer to his body. Her arms went around his neck and hugged him in return. His words brushed her ear, blowing wisps of her hair.

"Kisa… Suki dayo."

Kisa froze. The words washed down her body, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. Her blood tingled and her nerves sizzled. Something inside grew and grew. And then everything seemed to collapse. A single moment that moved on just as quickly as her heart continued to beat rapidly inside her ribcage.

She didn't know when she began to smile, but she definitely knew that she was. Because at that moment, even though time did not stand still, Hatsuharu kissed her gently and briefly. And he was smiling with her.


AN: ::deflates:: That. Was. So. Hard. Do you ever realize how difficult it is to take things this slow only to make them kiss at the end? I felt like Kisa's personality and Haru's bluntness was going to be the death of me! Eeee! But I think that wraps up a lot of loose ends, wouldn't you?

Thanks for reading and reviewing! And to those who stayed with me, cookies to you! I love you!

Only one chapter left! Please look forward to the over-due ending of Splashes of Fruits!


Glossary

Kampai – a saying when people toast, similar to the "Cheers!" we say in Western style

Obachan – Not to be confused with "Obaa-chan", which means grandmother. "Obachan" means "aunt" (or can be used to address someone as 'middle' aged, which Hiro infers in this chapter)

"Hatsuharu-kun" – Since Haru broke Kisa of calling him "nii-chan" I would have had Kisa address Haru as "Hatsuharu-SAN" but I felt that was much too formal for relatives as close as them. It might also be inappropriate for her to address him as "Hatsuharu-CHAN" so I stuck with the suffix –kun.

Omedetou – loosely translated as "Congratulations"

Betsu ni – "It's nothing"

Suki dayo – "I like you" said in a more masculine way, insinuated by the "dayo" phrase ending. The females usually say "suki yo"