His Summer Beauty

by The Blue Monster Cake

The world can be incredibly cruel, but feeling that cruelty makes you all the more grateful for the kindness you receive. The girl who was once a murderer finds kindness and compassion given to her by Tohru Honda, who she stays with after the death of Kyoko, and meets the Sohma's. She experiences their gentle kindness and finds herself in love with a kitten. Don't own Fruits Basket

10. Yuki and Tohru I ship it

Chapter 10 for you guys! And to the only reviewer because SOMEBODY (I'm looking at you audience) was too lazy to write a review.

BookKeeper88: I'm sorry for the feels? I'm not sorry? You're welcome? *shrugs*

I just finished up cleaning at work, and making sure all the doors were locked properly. As I exited out the back door, securely locking it, I wondered about the endurance run tomorrow. I don't want a repeat of last year, so maybe I should just stay by Tohru's side and keep pace with her? I wasn't fond of all the attention that came from my "outstanding time". Everyone was convinced I should have joined their athletics team or club. No thanks.

I jumped as a hand landed on my shoulder, only finding it to be Kyo's. I must have been really lost in my thoughts, to let him sneak up on me so easily. I let my lips shape themselves into a teasing grin, "Wow kitten, you're really getting better at the stealth thing, aren't you?"

Kyo's face twisted itself from concern to annoyance as he told me in a sigh, "Quit calling me kitten. And don't you dare make a cat pun."

My head tilted to the side curiously, "Someone's in a good mood. You didn't even start yelling. What happened, did Yuki die or something?"

I watched as Kyo closed his eyes in irritation, but also smirk in amusement, "He's not dead yet, I'm just excited for the endurance run tomorrow. I'll be able to beat that stupid rat boy for sure!"

"Sounds like it'll be a sight to see, just try not to trip and fall while you're running. I don't want to have to watch you embarrass yourself like that," I teased him, enjoying the easy conversation.

Kyo rolled his eyes, but the determined look in his eyes didn't falter as we continued to walk home. We both accepted the gentle silence as we walked. Or we did until Kyo started talking again, "So you were really spacing out, when you came out from work. You're not getting sick are you?"

"Sick of my thoughts," I commented in quick retaliation. "But physically I'm not sick, at least as far as I know."

"What were you thinking so hard about? Nothing bad happened at your job, did it?"

"No mom," I teased him, getting the look of annoyance that filled me with a rush of victory. I rolled my eyes and explained to him, "I was just thinking about the endurance run tomorrow. I'm just going to take it easy and keep pace with Tohru, rather than actually run tomorrow."

"But aren't you and Tohru the ones always trying to "do your best" and stuff? Shouldn't this count," Kyo questioned, his brows furrowed together in confusion.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's just as important to take things easy and relax. Also, I don't want a repeat of last year's nightmare."

Kyo raised a brow in question and asked, "What happened last year?"

I let out a long sigh as I worked up the will to tell him, "I did the whole "do your best" thing only to break the schools record for the female endurance run. Then everyone, and I mean everyone started talking to me. Trying to be my friend so I would join whatever athletic team they were a part of, yelling at me for not joining their team sooner, or just hating me cause they thought I was a show off. They still can't prove I dislocated this one girls arm. It was a mess."

Kyo started to laugh at me, and I got to say I was not pleased. Not at all. I was certainly not smiling and trying not to laugh. Nope. Kyo, still shaking with laughter, asked me, "do I even want to know why you dislocated a girl's arm?"

Still fighting the smile on my face, I shrugged my shoulders as a response. "She tried to cut my hair to "knock my ego down a bit" and… oops."

Kyo shook his head at my answer, the bright smile still on his face, as we made our way up to the front door of the house. As we entered the house we took off our shoes and made to go up to our rooms, everyone else in the house seeming to be settling down for bed themselves. After we climbed up the stairs we pause outside out bedroom doors.

"Night Natsumi. Try not to dislocate Tohru's arm while you sleep, kay?"

"Ha, Ha. You are just hiss-terical. Thanks for walking me home, kitten. Sweet dreams."

"Ugh, you are so full of it."

With that being said we went into our rooms to rest till tomorrow. I laid beside Tohru just relaxing, trying not to think about what would happen tomorrow. I would just stay by Tohru's side, and everything would work out fine. At least, that's how it always seemed to go. Tohru's side was the safest place in the world, so long as I was there to keep her safe physically she would keep me safe emotionally.

Before anyone was ready, the morning had appeared. We were all outside in our track gear, stretching and getting ready for the endurance run. I sat down beside Yuki as he tied his shoe, doing some small stretches to prepare my body. Tohru walked up to us almost hesitantly, "Hey Yuki. How are you feeling today?"

Yuki gave her a smile of reassurance, "don't worry, I think I'll be able to manage. Besides, if I don't do this that stupid cat will never let me hear the end of it. You know, I don't believe I've seen Ms. Uotani here today."

"Right, she thought this might be a good day to skip. Hana's here though," Tohru explained until she heard the teach blow the whistle and call the girls over. "Well, gotta run!"

"Good luck," Yuki encouraged her as I stood from my place from the ground. Yuki offered me the same encouragement, "Good luck, Natsumi."

I gave him a polite smile, "Thanks, you too. Especially since you're the one who has to endure Kyo while you run. See you after."

"Thanks," Yuki sighed, sparing another glance at the hissing cat, whilst I made my way to Tohru and Hana. I could already tell Hana wasn't going to actually run with us, there was no way. So as the teacher started to call out for us to get ready, I waited with anticipation over what Hana would do.

"On your marks! Get set!" Then there was the sound of the small explosion they fake gun emitted. I watched Hana take one step before promptly falling on her knees, clutching her hands to her chest.

Tohru was startled but quick to be at her side, "Hana, what's the matter?! Are you okay?!"

"Tohru," Hana weakly called out to her friend. "I'm sorry. I can't run any farther. I've done my best but now I've reached the edge of my limits. Run on without me, and don't worry. I'll be right behind you the whole time. Only, walking."

Our teacher butted in on Hana's beautifully dramatic moment, "Walk, crawl, I don't care. Just start Ms. Hanajima."

From there Tohru took off running and I paced her, staying right at her side. After a little bit Tohru's run slowed to a steady jog as we began to run alongside a small river. Suddenly Tohru veered off course heading down the grassy slope towards the river. I sighed as I chased after her watching her as she headed towards a person laying on the ground.

I was curious as I heard Tohru call out to the guy, "Sir, are you okay? Is something wrong?" As the male teenager sat up and turned around to face us I watched Tohru come to a quick halt and start stumbling over her words, "I'm sorry. It's just that your hair is so white, I thought you were an old man that had fallen down or something. I mean, not that you look like an old man."

The white and black haired teenager cut her off from her rambling to ask, "Have either of you ever heard of a place called Sohma house?"

"The Sohma house? By any chance, would you be a Sohma," Tohru asked as she sat down on the grass beside him. I stood beside where she sat, curious and not entirely trusting of the guy.

The guy answered her question without hesitation, "I sure am. So you know it then?"

"Yeah," I answered him calmly. "We live with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo Sohma."

His eyes widened, intrigued by the information, before he became distracted by the sound of heavy footfalls off in the distance. Remembering the endurance run, I could only imagine the sound belonging to Yuki and Kyo. The teenager walked up the hill and across the paved path to tie some rope to the metal guard rail. Tohru and I watched as he came back over to us, leaving a trail of rope in his wake. The guy crouched down low to the ground, and held on to the rope holding an intense gaze on the path in front of him.

Tohru couldn't help but ask, "Uh, what are you doing?"

As an answer the guy pulled the rope taut, effectively tripping Kyo and sending the cat hard into the ground. The guy nodded, as though proud of himself, and mumbled out, "Got him."

Tohru was quick to run to Kyo's side, calling out to him, "Kyo are you hurt?!" Knelt beside the cat who continued to just lay on the ground. Yuki came running from the direction Kyo had come from, slowing himself down to a stop.

"Ms. Honda," Yuki asked, surprised to see her.

Kyo on the other hand, lifted himself from the ground and started yelling, "What the hell are you doing?! DAMN IT! I was winning and everything!"

The teenager next to me spoke up, "If I hadn't tripped you then you wouldn't have stopped, now would you?"

Kyo looked over at the weird teenager next to me, with a shocked look on his face, "Haru?"

This "Haru" looked back over his left shoulder and spoke to the empty air, "By the way, what I just did was very dangerous. If that had been anyone other than Kyo they'd probably be hurt pretty badly, so don't try this at home."

Kyo was quick to shout at him, "DON'T TRY IT HERE! who are you even talking to?!"

I watched Yuki let out a sigh, "So now it's Haru. They just keep showing up, don't they? Shouldn't you be in school?"

Haru avoided Yuki's gaze as he answered, "Yeah, well actually I left on Sunday with the intention of coming here. But I was swept away into the heart of the dark urban wilderness and it took me three days to find my way out."

Yuki sighed yet again, and asked, "Why don't you just say you got lost?"

I shrugged my shoulders and answered Yuki's rhetorical question, "Probably because his way was much more dramatic and interesting to listen to."

"See? She gets it," Haru commented. Yuki raised a hand to his head, refraining from sighing yet again.

I heard Kyo comment to Tohru, or maybe just himself, "His sense of direction is still as crappy as ever."

Tohru, ever the sweet little optimist, responded, "Well if you're going to get lost, that's an impressive way to do it."

The Kyo, being the pessimist that he is, retorted, "Well it means he hasn't had a bath in three days! Gross!"

Tohru, spotting the incoming runners, asked aloud to everyone, "Hey guys, do you think we should move somewhere off the road?"

Yuki nodded, "that might be wise. Oh, this is Hatsuharu. He's still in his third year of middle school, one year behind us. Haru, this is Ms. Tohru Honda and Ms. Natsumi Hisoka."

"Well then Ms. Tohru Honda and Ms. Natsumi Hisoka, it is a pleasure to meet you both," Haru told us as he bowed in greeting.

Tohru, quick to be flustered bowed right back, "Oh no, the pleasure's all mine, really!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, but I really do think we should get off the road now," I told him, something about him still making me hesitant.

But everyone followed my suggestion and moved towards the grassy river bank and under an overpass to stay out of view. Kyo was quick to start questioning Haru again, "So what did you come here for anyway?"

"To fight," was Haru's quick and simple response. "I was planning to challenge you at the New Year's banquet, but you decided to skip. So I've come to you. Now, let's do it."

"Now hold on a minute," Kyo yelled at Haru, who had just grabbed his shirt. "I'm right in the middle of something here, in case you hadn't noticed!"

"I've already waisted three days looking for you!"

"That's your own damn fault! You're the one who got lost!"

"Forget I said it, let's go!"

"You forget it! Wait until we get home and then I'll fight you as much as you want!"

"No way!"

Yuki then spoke, mostly to himself, "This could get ugly… Hey Kyo, maybe you should just go ahead and do as he says before-."

Kyo cut Yuki off, "No! I said no and I mean no! Now get outta here, I'm busy."

Kyo turned to walk away from Haru, only for Haru to smash his head into the back of Kyo's, eliciting a shout of pain from the cat. Kyo dropped into a crouch, clutching the back of his head as Haru seemed to turn into a different person. Haru spoke in a deeper voice, his tone laced with disgust, "You make me sick. You and your pathetic girly whining. You're not a man! You're a little kitty cat who's too scared to fight! Know what?! YOU CAN GO TO HELL AH HA HA HA HA!"

"You little punk," Kyo shouted as he round house kicked Haru, right in the jaw. Tohru and I stood on either side of Yuki, watching on in horror, agitation, and amusement respectively.

Yuki started speaking under his breath, "That idiot just had to go and bring out Black Haru."

"Black," Tohru questions, still horrified by the fight in front of her.

Yuki, still distracted by the fight, responded in the same manner of speaking, "Haru's pretty easy to get along with, but once he snaps he's uncontrollable. That's our nickname for him when he's like this, Black Haru."

"So what you saying is, is that he's got the same sorta temper as Kagura," Tohru asked.

"No, not at all," Yuki answered. Haru came up, pressing Yuki's back the wall of the under pass. One hand on the wall beside Yuki's head, and the other raising Yuki's face up by his chin. Yuki continued to speak, "I'm saying he's a thousand times worse."

"Yuki," Haru began, "Are you comfortable? Enjoying the show? I hope so, because I'm coming for you next!"

"Oh, is that a fact," Yuki questioned.

Haru whirled around and shouted, "GET UP, KYO!"

Kyo was right there standing, and quick to fire back, "I'VE BEEN UP! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?!"

Haru started walking back towards Kyo, presumably to continue the fight. "I've been right here, come on. Fight," Haru egged on Kyo. Honestly I was tempted to hug this guy and make him transform, in hopes to shut him up.

"You know, this could go on for hours, you really don't have to stay," Yuki told the both of us.

I sighed, "I know this is an abuse of the curse, but do you want me to hug him so he transforms and has to stop fighting?"

"I'm honestly not sure if that'll work," Yuki told me, seeming almost tempted enough to let me try. Once again the fighting boys started to trash talk one another.

"Go away, leave me alone," Haru mocked Kyo. "When did you become such a little pansy, huh?!"

"You know, when you go Black you're a real bastard!"

"Oh yeah?! Well just for that, when I'm don't with you, I'm gonna take your little girlfriend!"

What?

"What the? YOU'RE GONNA WHAT?!"

"Oh you know. I'm gonna do this, and a little of that, and I'm definitely gonna do some of that."

I narrowed my eyes at the guy and moved to stand partially in front of Tohru, hissing under my breath, "He better not be talking about Tohru, or I'm gonna kick his ass."

Kyo spared a glance over at Tohru and I before focusing back on Black Haru, "You're sick. And if it's a fight you want, you got it! Just bring it on!"

"That's more like it you coward, it's about time you came around," Haru shouted, amped up and ready to continue fighting.

"Ms. Honda, Natsumi, this really will take a while, you both should head back if you want," Yuki told us, gently coughing afterwards.

Tohru shook her head, nervous of the outcome of the fight, "But shouldn't we, at least try to stop them?"

Haru started throwing numerous punches and kicks, which Kyo dodged and blocked rather gracefully. Kyo seemed to be much better at fighting Haru then he was Yuki. Tohru watched on, finally over the shock of it all, "Somehow this has turned into a fighting anime… uhm, excuse me!"

"Let's leave them alone, Ms. Honda," Yuki told her, not believing the two would stop there fighting for a second. "It's best to let them fight it out, it's what they want. Besides, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be the one to stand between them. It's a little risky."

"I mean," I started with a teasing smile, "If Haru's hair is any indication of which zodiac animal he is, I think it might be more fun to watch a cat and an ox fight… speaking of the fight, how come Kyo is so good at fighting? You think with this skill he could last more than 5 seconds against you, Yuki."

Haru threw his jacket off to the side, yelling once again about Kyo being a pansy. You think he would have more insults than that, wouldn't you? Kyo landed a solid punch to Haru's jaw, throwing the boy back. Tohru covered her eyes at the sight of the well landed blow, whilst Kyo took his chance to trash talk, "Don't get cocky you brat! Compared to Yuki, you move like a turtle!"

"So what does that make you? You still can't beat Yuki yourself, now can you, loser? And you did all that extra training too. You're even worse than a turtle, you're a snail, an ameba."

"I'm seriously gonna MURDER YOU!"

Tohru tensed up, terrified Kyo meant his words. Yuki was quick to inform her, "He's not serious."

"But, look at him. I've never seen Kyo fight like this," Tohru said, as though trying to rationalize her fear to herself.

I nodded my head in agreement to what Tohru had said, "Seriously. He's actually holding his own. I ask again, why can Kyo not last longer than 5 seconds against you? I mean, it looks like he has the skill."

"Well against Haru, Kyo does seem a lot stronger." Yuki explained, "But if you ask me, they're both a couple of fighting fools. They've both been studying martial arts since they were-." Yuki's sentence was cut off by his coughs. Yuki tried to speak again only to start leaning forward a dangerous amount. I got in front of Yuki, and held his shoulders in my hand. Gently I pushed him to lean against the wall of the overpass to slide down slowly. As Yuki sat on the ground I put my hand to his head, feeling the heat radiate off of him.

"Yuki," Tohru called out loudly in alarm as Yuki started coughing some more. I helped Yuki lean forward off the wall, rubbing his back to help try and soothe the muscles as he coughed vigorously. Tohru's call of alarm broke the boys away from their fight.

Haru came rushing over, "Is it an asthma attack? Wait a minute, does he have a fever?"

As Haru reached to touch Yuki I smacked his hands away, "Yeah he seems to have a pretty high fever. Right now it's just a heavy coughing fit, not quite an asthma attack, so give him some room to breathe for a moment. His lungs and bronchial tubes are definitely extra sensitive so the sooner we get him out of the cold, the better."

"Are you sure," Haru asked me. "We'll hurry and go call the main house."

Yuki grabbed Haru's ankle to stop him, shaking his head as heavy coughs continued to wrack his frame. I looked at Tohru, snapping my fingers to get her attention, "Will you go grab Haru's coat from the ground over there? We don't want Yuki to get much colder."

"Sure," Tohru told me, almost happy to have something to do, and being able to help. As she went and grabbed Haru's coat I continued to rub Yuki's back, relaxing the muscles enough to keep them from spasming.

"You don't want the main house, do you? Kyo, you don't mind if we finish out fight later, do you," Haru asked. Kyo shook his head, not minding in the least. As Tohru draped Haru's jacket over Yuki I felt the muscles in his back tense, an asthma attack beginning to take hold of Yuki. We needed to get Yuki home immediately, but carrying him like this would slow us down. I can't imagine having an asthma attack as a mouse would be ideal either. And Shigure said that they transform when their bodies are under high stress like this, so we can't risk taking a taxi, for Yuki to transform in the backseat. Guess the boys carrying him is the best option we got.

"Now he's having an asthma attack. We need to get him home to Shigure's immediately. Haru, Kyo, do you two think you can carry him," I asked the two trouble makers.

Haru nodded his head, agreeing to the idea, "Yeah, I'd suggest a taxi. But it would be a real pain if he transformed in the backseat. But carrying him would really slow us down… unless."

"Unless what," Tohru questioned, hoping there might be a quicker way to get Yuki home.

"Well there's another way that will probably be faster, thanks to the two of you. It's lucky for me you're both so cute, I have my pick of the litter. And if I'm gonna do it, it should definitely be with someone cute, "Haru said more to himself than anyone else. I rolled my eyes so hard I thought for a moment they would fall out of my skull. I stood up and wrapped Haru into my arms, in a gentle hug. I could pretty much hear his grin as he hugged me back before transforming into the ox I pictured him to be.

"Well, it will most certainly be faster this way. Kyo, can you lift Yuki onto Haru's back," I asked him, know the cat of the zodiac was more than capable. Kyo, with his face red, and an angry twitch in his eye, lifted Yuki up and onto Haru's back. Yuki was struggling to breath, as Haru started walking out from under the overpass.

"Hey, one of you girls should hold onto my neck so I don't transform. And could someone grab my clothes," Haru spoke over his shoulder to Tohru and I. Seeing how Tohru made to pick up Haru's clothes, I jogged to Haru's side and wrapped my arms around his neck.

I directed Haru to Shigure's house, making certain the cow didn't walk us in a random direction and get us all lost. No one really made conversation as we walked, only the occasional check on Yuki by Tohru. Yuki, for the most part, kept focusing on steadying his breathing… till he fell asleep. The people we passed by, stared strangely at us, no doubt because of Haru. It felt like the longest walk of my life, despite the fast walking pace that we took.

As we arrived home, Shigure opened the front door to greet us, only to seemingly piece the story together, and start laughing at us. "So you came all the way here looking like that, did you?"

"It's not funny," Kyo told him as we walked inside, Haru biting the sleeve of Shigure's kimono along the way. I let go of Haru's neck and directed him to walk upstairs. Kyo and Shigure got Yuki into bed without waking up the tired mouse.

"There, we'll let him sleep for a while. Looks like it was just a mild attack. He still has a slight fever, but he'll be alright," Shigure told us all gently as we stood in Yuki's room.

"Thank goodness," Tohru said, whilst clutching her hands tightly to her chest.

"Sorry for the scare, Tohru. But it's really okay, you can go back to school now, if you want," Shigure offered her, knowing how much school meant to Tohru.

"Oh no. I mean, school is important, but I just wouldn't feel right going back. Knowing that he's lying here sick… I'm sure mom will understand if I miss a day. Besides I feel a little bit responsible. I should've asked him to stay home today, then his cold might have not gotten this bad."

"I'll tell you what," Shigure made his offer, "I'll go to the school and pick up your bags for you."

I felt my left eyebrow raise in suspicion, knowing what the old hound dog was up to. Tohru however, was unaware, "Oh no, you really don't have to go through all that trouble."

"Oh no trouble at all. In the meantime, Kyo, why don't you call Hatori?"

Kyo turned around to face Shigure, his cheeks looking a little red, as he asked, "Why do I gotta do it?"

"Watch yourself though," Shigure warned, "Hatori's a bit overworked these days. He's probably not in the best of moods. Practically the entire family has come down with the flu."

Haru transformed back into a human, clothes missing and all, as he offered, "I'll call him. Where's the phone again?"

Haru was walking right into the hallway, completely unashamed at his state of undress. Kyo was quick to tell Haru, "Put some clothes on first!"

Shigure was quick and happy to leave, "Well I'm off. Take good care of Yuki while I'm gone."

"Okay," Tohru told him, "And thank you so much."

I was making some soup for Yuki to eat when he woke up, whilst I heard Haru on the phone with Hatori, just outside the kitchen. Leek soup was always best for colds, and thank goodness Tohru had picked up some fresh leeks at the supermarket the other day. As I was letting the soup simmer I could hear the telltale signs of a fight breaking out between Kyo and Haru. Surprisingly enough Kyo was being the instigator this time.

I sighed, not wanting another door in the house to be broken, I walked out of the kitchen towards Kyo. Kyo, having Haru in a headlock and trying to convince the ox to fight him, was completely distracted as I snuck up behind him and gave him a hard smack to the back of the head. I held up my fingers, counting my points on them, "One. Yuki is sleeping, don't go waking him up with a fight. Two. No fighting in the house, you're gonna break another door or something. Three. Haru just switched out of his "Black" mode, you really want to start that again. Four. Either of you try fighting inside and I will throw both your butts out into the cold. Am I clear?"

"oh," Tohru sounded from in front of Kyo and Haru, "You're not black Haru anymore?"

"Uh, no," Haru told Tohru passively before looking back to me, "And I'll try to keep that in mind, Natsumi."

"Good," I told him before looking to Tohru, "How's Yuki doing?"

"He's still sleeping."

Haru finally managed to wiggle his way out of Kyo's headlock, "Don't attack him while he's passed out, Kyo."

"SHUT UP! What good does it do me if I beat him with a cheap trick like that?! The day I knock that damn rat on his tail, it's gonna be fair and square! Ah… to hell with it! I'm going back to school," Kyo finished his tangent, walking right past Tohru and out the front door.

I went back into the kitchen, Tohru and Haru following me. As I stirred the soup, Haru asked us, "Yuki and Kyo, do they… do they still get in fist fights every day?"

Tohru began filling an ice pack with ice as she responded, "No, but they argue just about every time they see each other."

"Huh," Haru commented, staring off into the distance. "That means they're getting along a little better, at least. It wasn't long ago that the idea would have seemed pretty hopeless."

As I poured a serving of soup into a dish for Yuki, I couldn't help but respond, "I know they struggle with seeing eye to eye, but it couldn't have been that bad."

"That's how it seemed," Haru told us as we fixed up a tray to take to Yuki's room. "I can tell they've both changed since then. There used to be so much tension between them, that if they were in the same room you could feel it in the air. They seem much more relaxed now. It could be because you two are here."

"No," Tohru said, busying herself to try and hide her blushing face, "I've doubt we made that much of a difference."

"I can't prove that theory yet, but I haven't been around enough to see what's going on. I guess the reason really isn't important. I'm just glad to see they're doing better," Haru told us earnestly. I felt the gentle smile creep its way onto my face, as I finished prepping the tray with medicine, soup, water, and the ice bag Tohru deemed necessary for Yuki. As we took the tray upstairs Haru continued on his heartfelt tangent, "Especially Yuki. He was my first love, after all. Nothing against Kyo, Yuki is just very special to me. Although when we were kids I couldn't stand him. I hated his guts."

"Really," I asked him. "How come?"

"Because he's the rat. It's in the old story, right? How the rat rode on the cows back to the zodiac banquet. I used to hate that story as a little kid. The cow. The cow was a stupid fool, letting the rat ride use him like that. That's what all the adults used to tell me anyways. I know they were probably half joking when they said it. Still, I couldn't help but feel like I was the one they were all laughing at, calling stupid," Haru told us as we walked inside Yuki's room. I set the tray down on his bedside table, whilst Haru wrapped the ice pack in a towel.

"That's horrible. No adult should say something like that, joking or not, "I mumbled spitefully under my breath, angry at the adults who dared to say such a thing. They're the ones who are stupid, not Haru.

"Yeah. After hearing it over and over I had so much anger towards the rat bottled up inside that I couldn't contain it. I started losing my temper over the tiniest things. I guess that's when my black personality first began to appear. It got to be too much for my parents to handle, so they had me take martial arts lessons to give me a way to vent. It really didn't help like they thought it would. I enjoyed the training itself, but even there it still felt like I was getting laughed at a lot. And then one day I happened to bump into Yuki. The truth is, up until then I had never even said a word to him.

"The only time we ever saw each other was at New Years. But that day, seeing him sitting there, all my anger began to swell up at once. I exploded. Once I was done screaming at him, he asked me if I was a fool like everyone said. And when I told him I wasn't a fool, he just smiled and said he didn't think so. After that I began to lose my temper less and less. Yuki had finally allowed me to vent the anger that had filled me up for so long. It felt as though my heart had suddenly been set free. I was completely surprised; in every possible way Yuki was different from the person I had imagined him to be.

"It's true, that until that point it had never occurred to me that he could be anything other than the mean rat. And to think, if I hadn't of met him that day, the mean rat is probably all I would see of him. Even now. Then I would really be a fool," Haru finished his story, having slipped the ice bag underneath Yuki's sleeping head as he talked.

Tohru was gazing at the two, a look of awe on her face as she commented, "That's a wonderful story."

"I was surprised today, too. Seeing Yuki next to you with that little smile on his face. It was a first for me. He never used to smile like that when he lived at the main house. That's why I was thinking, maybe it's your influence that's helped him to soften up a bit," Haru told Tohru, whilst I smiled fondly at the idea of Tohru and Yuki walking to school holding hands as a couple.

Tohru, however, was quick to throw the glory away from her shoulders, "No it can't be, I'm sure it's something else! I don't know what I possibly could have done that would have been so great!"

"I'll prove it to you," Haru told her with a small cheeky smile on his face, "When he wakes up, try calling him by his nickname once. I'll bet it cheers him up."

Tohru, with red cheeks, was quick to agree in hopes it would get him to leave her alone about the subject. I felt my lips twist into a small sly grin at the idea, curious what Yuki's reaction would be. Before we had time to discuss it much more, Yuki started to awaken. Tohru knelt down beside his bed, her hands clutched to her chest in worry and anticipation.

"Ms. Honda," Yuki questioned upon seeing her at his side.

Tohru spoke gently to Yuki, "Hi, welcome back."

Yuki stared at Tohru for a moment, before he quickly and abruptly sat up in bed, "That's right I was-! I hope I wasn't any trouble."

"No, it's alright," Tohru tried to reassure him.

"But I. How. How did I get here," Yuki asked, thoroughly confused.

"Hatsuharu transformed and carried you here on his back," Tohru explained gently.

Yuki looked at Haru appreciatively, "Well thank you. It must have been a sight."

Haru was bashful at Yuki's thanks, "No, I didn't mind at all. You were asleep by the time we got home. Since then I've just been telling Tohru and Natsumi the story about why I like you."

"Is that the only thing you could think of to talk about," Yuki questioned, irritated, "I at least hope you didn't bore them with too many details."

"They seemed interested," Haru told him.

"It's okay. I was a very nice story, Prince Yuki," Tohru smiled, slightly shaking with anticipation.

"Don't pay attention to Haru, he-," Yuki cut himself off as what Tohru referred to him by, finally registered in his mind. Yuki's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed a brilliant pink before he transformed into a rat. Little Yuki laid on his bed still as could be, an evident pink still on his mousey cheeks.

Tohru appeared to be crying as she said in a water voice, "There, you see? It doesn't work at all when I say it.

At the end of the day Kyo and Shigure returned, feeling a little worse for wear, having apparently played cards out in the cold with Hana. Both the cat and the dog ended up transforming, their bodies having been under too much stress to handle. Let's just say Hatori was not happy to get the call telling him two more of zodiac members were sick. But in the end Hatori took Haru back home to the main Sohma house, though I'm almost certain Haru got a lecture about getting lost for three days and missing school. All in all, the day came to a somewhat peaceful, if not miserable, close.