Never Too Late

Chapter 9- I need you, I love you

By RealDiePie

Disclaimer: I do not own the perfect story that is fruits basket (although I wish I did...).

A/N: Heeeeey brooos! It's been a VERY long time, huh? I'm so, so, so, SO sorry aboutthat! It's just that I have so much to do, and now I'm working on another fic (about Harry Potter, so whoever's interested, I'll be posting real soon here!) and I'm kind of trying to keep writing this one as much as possible! Hmm, I hope this chapter will satisfy your reading needs until I have some time to post... Oh, and by the way, WE'RE ALMOST AT THE END OF THIS FIC! *crying like a baby* Yeah, I'm really sad for that, but also happy, because I'll be able to look at the little circle in the edit page and see the "Complete" one marked in blue... Yaaaay!

"In a world filled with changes
each and every day,
I feel I'm being judged
for what I don't say.

I remember back to pranks
and play days at the park
When I didn't worry about
other people's remarks.

Now looking in the mirror,
I see to my surprise
A completely different person
staring at my eyes.

The care free little kid
I saw at 4 and 5,
Is now becoming a teen
just trying to survive."

-Misti L. Green

XxXxXxX

"What exactly do you want to tell me, Ayame-san?" Tohru, who was now sitting with Yuki's brother on a couch inside his shop, asked a little confused.

"Tohru, do you know the story of our family?" She shook her head negatively and he proceeded telling her. "Almost a million years ago, Kazuko (peace child) Sohma was born. He was a real warrior and protected his village with loyalty. One day, he impregnated a woman called Keiko (happy child) and they decided to marry. Their daughter was given the name of Misaki (beautiful blossom), and the family considered her a gift from god. However, when the girl turned 18 she went completely crazy and, after giving birth to a child, she killed herself." He paused to recover his breath... And to verify that Tohru was ok; afterall, it was a disturbing story. He faced the girl with a 'are you ok?' look and she just nodded for him to continue. "Well, after the incident, Misaki's daughter; Yumi (the cause) was her name, was considered a burden to the world and the people in the village blamed her for the death of her mother."

"That's so sad..." Tohru whispered holding her tears. "How can anyone do that to a child? Mostly after her mom died!" Tohru knew how it was to loose a mother. She knew the blame she carried on her shoulders everyday. She knew that it wasn't easy forgetting; but it wasn't easy remembering either.

"Yeah... But that's not all." Ayame held her hands to prepare her for what he was about to say. "Even though a million years have passed, this 'tradition' still haunts our family."

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"What I mean is... After all this years, the decendents of Yumi are still punished by Misaki's death, and that... Kyo is one of this decendandts." He finally spit it out.

"Wh-what?" She didn't want to believe it. It was hard to accept the fact that Kyo was avoided by his own family.

"Yeah. Kyo's father indeed married someone else, but the true reason why he's been alone all this time is the fact that he is a desendant of Yumi." He looked at her to see if everything was ok. "Tohru, since the death of his mother, you're the only person who seems to make him happy; and sometimes, even help him with this 'curse'." She looked up and smiled. She was glad she could do at least something for him.

"I... I will do everything that I can to help... I promise!"

XxXxXxX

"The Kaibara High School
Has the honor to present:
The Animals of The Zodiac.
The play of the year!
Tickets can be found in the school's reception."

Tohru read the poster located in the entrance of the school. Tonight was the night of the play and, although it was still morning, Tohru was having a hard time concentrating on her classes because she was too nervous.

"Heeey! Tohru!" The girl looked behind her and saw her two beat friends running towards her. A small smile escaped from the girl's mouth. She was lucky to have these wonderful friends...

"Hey!" She answered and the three of them walked together inside the school.

Their classes went quick by, really. The tension from the play was starting to affect the other students, and Tohru thought she was going to faint in the middle of the presentation.

Soon, everyone who was participating of the event was reunited on the back of the stage, discussing last minute decisions and stuff.

"Hey, Tohru. You ready?" Kyo approached the girl.

"Hum... I'm not sure." She let out a nervous laugh. "I-I'm a little nervous..."

"No need to. I'm sure you're going to do just fine. Oh, and... About the ending... Th-that means nothing right?" He stuttered, refering to the end of the play.

"Ah... Eh... N-no! I-It means n-nothing..." She hurried to explain. Before they could say anything else; Machi, the head of the drama club, announced the beginning of the presentation. Oh, dear. This was going to be a long night...

XxXxXxX

"Not so long ago, an ordinary girl came to live with three boys. But different from her, they were cursed. A curse that could only be broken if the head of the clan learned to love and respect the others, what was nearly impossible." The narrator started to speak and a blong girl came in the stage to represent the head of the cursed family. She danced for a while and with the help of some effects, the girl was switched with a bird. "The members of the family turned into animals of the zodiac every time they hugged someone from the opposite sex. That was their curse..." The voice spoke again and now all of the 'animals' entered the scene, including Kyo, who didn't look like he was having much fun; and Yuki, who seemed to be having a hard time to dance in the right rhythm.

The play continued and Tohru finally appeared. She was supposed to be Kyo's romantic interest... And that was what made everything difficult for her. For some reason, acting with him had a great effect on her. Every touch, every move, or even one little smile made her heart want to jump out of her chest. It was undeniable that he messed with her... In a good way, but still...

"Akiba-san, you can be good. Everyone can be good. You just have to try a little harder..." Tohru said to the blond girl that was representing the head of the family. The end of the play was getting nearer, and Tohru couldn't be more nervous. The same could be said about Kyo. He couldn't believe he had agreed to do this 'play thing' as he called it. It just wasn't logical. He was supposed to be a bad-boy, never caring about people's feelings. He was supposed to be feared, unpopular and, most of all, lonely. But after he met Tohru, he felt he wasn't alone anymore. He felt like he could actually count on someone to make him feel better when he was sad. She had changed him... He was just not ready to admit it yet...

The narrator finished telling the part when Tohru and Akiba talked, and now was the end. "But after all of this, there were still some unfinished business." The male voice said and both, Tohru and Kyo stepped on the stage, hands shaking. "What would happen now? Would they both just forget about everything they lived together?" The guy said again and the two teenagers approached each other. At this point, Tohru was expecting to faint at any second.

"Kyoya, I-I don't..." Tohru acted perfectly.

"Don't say anything. It's my turn to tell you my feelings..." Kyo slowly moved his hand from the side of his body to her waist. He pulled her closer and started leaning forward. At this moment, they couldn't feel anything else but each other's bodies. They were so close, yet so apart. Their faces were separated by mere inches. She could feel his warm mint breath fanning on her face. Kyo turned his head, but instead of kissing her on the lips, he planted a calm kiss on the corner of her mouth; just like they had planned. Honestly? They both were in shock. Kyo for almost kissing her, and Tohru for doing that in front of hundreds of people. The red curtains fell and exited applauses could be heard from the other side of it.

People started arriving to congratulate the 'actors', so Kyo slowly let go of the girl in front of him.

"Holy Jesus Christ... You were simply AWESOME!" The first to appear was Machi. She had a huge smile on her face and a glint of happiness on her eyes.

"Th-thank you... Machi-chan..." Tohru said in a tense voice.

"Uh... Yeah... Thanks..." Kyo agreed and at this very moment, Yuki arrived.

"Honda-san! You were great!" She smiled and hugged Kyo's cousin.

"Thank you, Yuki-kun!" The orange haired couldn't help but feel angry at Tohru's closeness with his hated cousin... He just hoped that didn't mean he was jealous...

"Oh, there they are!" A voice sounded from somewhere behind the group of teenagers, and when they turned to see who it was, they knew exactly why Shigure had been acting weird lately.

"Wh-what are you doing here...?" Yuki's voice sounded weaker than he thought it would. Well, he didn't expect it to sound normal considering the circumstances... The boy looked at his cousin and they both gulped with fear. Seeing all the family reunited wasn't exactly what you'd call weird... It was more than weird. And it also meant that something was wrong... VERY wrong...

"Liked the surprise, Yuki?" Shigure asked in front of the other member of the family.

"Who... Who are they?" Tohru whispered confused, but Shigure managed to hear.

"Oh, how rude of me, my dear Tohru! Let me introduce you the Sohma family members..." He smiled kindly and Tohru's chin almost fell to the floor. "This is Hiro..." He pointed to a little boy with honey colored hair. "...This is Kisa.." Now he pointed to a very pretty little girl with the same hair color as the previous boy. Tohru couldn't help but smile when the girl named Kisa tried to hide behind Hiro. "...This is Kureno..." Now a man surprisingly with the very same hair color as the previous two stepped ahead and nodded with respect. "...And this is... Akito..." Shigure hesitated a little before pointing a beautiful woman with shiny black hair. "So this is Akito... The girl Shigure fell in love with..." Tohru thought and bowed slightly to the head of the family.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Tohru smiled and looked at those she had just met.

"The pleasure is ours. We heard so much about you..." Akito spoke simply and tuned on her heels to leave. "We should celebrate this... Moment... Tohru, why don't you accompany us in our dinner?" She said over her shoulder and Tohru didn't have time to answer, because Shigure had already started pushing her towards the exit, leaving Yuki and Kyo with similar worried expressions behind.

XxXxXxX

"So, Tohru. How did you find Shigure, Yuki, and... Kyo..." Akito said the last name with a certain discomfort and Tohru's heart sank when she realized it was because of what Ayame told her earlier. They had already arrived at a fancy restaurant and now the whole family watched Akito and Tohru's conversation carefully.

"Uh, I was walking to school and saw their house. There were these little zodiac animals ornaments and Shigure found me admiring them.

"And you just decided to start living with them?" Hiro spoke, trying to steal some meatballs from Shigure's plate.

"No... I had nowhere to live, since my mom died, so they said it would be okay if I lived with them!" She said in a happy tone and the table became silent. None of them had ever heard someone talking about a dear person's death so calmly. "After my mom died everything was different, you know? I had no one to say hello to when I got home. No one to say goodnight to when I went to bed... But I guess it was worth living a month alone... Afterall, I met you guys!" She looked at the three boys she had been living with, who forced a smile.

"Hmm, why don't we talk about ourselves a little?" Shigure tried to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, why not?" Ayame said and they started to talk about random subjects. Soon, they finished dinner and everyone went home. Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and Tohru walked in silence through the streets. The fresh night air filling their nostrils. The stars shined like diamonds, and the moon was unusually big.

"Hey. Tohru." Kyo called the girl and both of them started walking slower to be able to talk.

"Oh, hey Kyo..." She replied with a weak voice.

"Are... You ok?" He asked truly worried. She wasn't acting like the Tohru he knew. She was sad for some reason and he wanted to help.

"Yeah, I'm just... Thinking..."

"You look a little sad... Would telling me what you're thinking make you feel better?" He asked and she looked at him with a kind smile, but there was something else... Something behind those eyes that he couldn't quite recognize.

"Actually, it would..." She stopped walking, and when he realized that, he went in her direction to see what was wrong.

"So...?" He asked to encourage her to talk.

"I... I've been so... Empty..." She said looking at the ground, "Since I arrived at the Sohmas' house I've been so happy, and all of a sudden, I feel empty... I feel lonely, and... Lost." He looked at her with compassion. He felt just like that. Like something... A part of his heart... Was missing. "But... I feel complete when I'm with you..." She admitted to herself, and Kyo's mouth practically shot open in shock. "I-I don't really know what it means, but... I feel like I need you... I feel like I... Love you..."

XxXxXxX

Soooooo? A little cliffhanger here... Please don't kill me! I just thought I could make you a little curious... What will he answer? Well, I'll leave you the thinking part. My job is to write hihihi...

I'll be going now, but not for long...

*brofist*

Byeeeeee