Disclaimer: How many times must I repeat this? I Do NOT own Fruits Basket. Which is probably a good thing.

A/N: Yes, there will be More YukiHaru in this chapter… It's becoming a slight obsession. There might be some parings that…Are a bit unusual as well…

I Kept My Word

It's so hard to scream when you're suffocating. Your voice catches in your throat, blocking the air even more, until you feel light headed. You're struggling for life, but at the same time fighting against it and the very feeling can move you to tears. Tears that had already dried up, tears that you had already cried. And so you struggle with your lack of air, trying to block out the haziness surrounding you, the fog coming over your vision, threatening to overtake the light with darkness, leaving you without a change of life or love.

A finger slowly drew it's way up Yuki's back, and he awoke with a start, breathing heavy, spine curving away from the finger as he awoke. "Kyo…" Mumbled Yuki into his pillow, flipping onto his other side. "Don't do that."

"You were gasping for air. I thought you might die." The voice that came to him was male, but it wasn't Kyo. It wasn't Shigure either. What the-? Oh. Wait. Kyo… The memories flooded back, and Yuki groggily opened his eyes to see Haru standing there.

"You shouldn't make that a habit…" Yuki grumbled. "Don't hover over people like that… they might get ideas…" He grabbed the covers, and wrapped them around himself a bit more tightly.

Haru looked down at the almost sleeping boy, and his hand reached out, gently stroking Yuki's hair. "Maybe I want them to get ideas…" Yuki shuddered under his touch, the covers so tight they were now almost choking him.

It had been two days since the Sohma's and Tohru had returned from the Hospital. Haru had stayed at the house, reluctant to go back to the Main House and appeal to Akito, while Ayame had returned home. Kisa, Hiro and Momiji (acting as a chaperone, of course) were camping out in the front yard, trying to make the best of a bad situation. It was clear that they were scared that the Sohma family was falling apart, and weren't sure what else to do.

No one had heard from Tohru since they had gotten home. She was now neglecting her duties, refusing to come out of her room. She had not left it since they had returned, except maybe once or twice for the bathroom. She wasn't eating. She wasn't talking. And she certainly wasn't happy. Yuki checked on her a few times a day, but she wouldn't open the door, wouldn't respond. Fear for her mental condition as well as her physical one welled up inside them. No one was sure what to do anymore.

"Besides, I was worried. When I woke up, you were gasping for air. You weren't breathing, and your face was blue. I think you should have Hatori look at you." Haru's brown eyes looked down at Yuki's violet ones, concern radiating from them. Yuki flinched away from his hard stare, finding it harder and harder to resist him.

But he found a way. "No. Hatori has got enough to worry about without me whining to him about my bronchial tubes again. I don't want to be a burden anymore." He closed his eyes, a fit of coughing overcoming him. Instantly, the ox jerked Yuki into a sitting position, setting himself down beside him, one hand wrapped around Yuki's back, holding him up as Yuki heaved.

Finally, after a few moments, the coughing died away, into silence. Yuki moved to brush Haru away, but Haru caught his wrists, slowly bringing them up to Yuki's face.

"Stop." Yuki struggled to get away, but he was still weak from his attack. His whole body tensed as Haru stared him down, brown eyes piercing the rat's heart. Yuki's expression softened, and for a few seconds, he looked like he was going to cry.

But Haru's eyes had turned a cold hard black, and his grip tightened around Yuki's wrists. He was standing now, looking down at the weak older boy, leaning closer and closer to him with each word.

"No, YOU listen. I'm sick of your shit, rat boy. How long are you going to push away love? You can't run away from it. Stop acting like you can't feel the same thing I feel. Stop acting like you're a cold heartless bastard. Kyo is dead, Yuki, he's dead! And nothing is going to bring him back! But if you accept that he's dead, if you move on, and just remember him, let yourself miss him for once, things will be normal again! You can't run away from love… Yuki… This is love goddammit. THIS IS LOVE."

And without further speech, Haru leaned forward, knocking Yuki over. The rat screamed furiously, eyes wide, lashing out at Black Haru with all his bodily strength, trying to push the stronger boy off of him, fists clenched as he tried desperately to free his wrists.

But his attacks were half hearted, more out of shock then anything. Both Haru and Yuki knew this. That monologue had seen clearly into Yuki's retrospective, breaking down any barriers, so that Yuki couldn't hide himself anymore.

And despite all this struggling, the feeling that was radiating from him was not of anger, but of excitement, and anticipation. Finally, finally, Black Haru's lips met Yuki's, and both of them shuddered at the electricity that coursed through them. Yuki's screams died away, and both boys' eyes closed, a slight groan coming from each of them in turn. As the kiss deepened, lips opening, tongues exploring regions they never though they could go, Yuki's fists slowly unclenched under Haru's grasp, hands slipping from his grip to reach up and pull the other boy ontop of him.

That morning, a hole that had been inside Yuki for a long, long time was filled. A curse, though not the one that possessed his entire life, only some of it, had been broken. And though the boy would still turn into a rat, he would no longer turn against his own heart.

LINEBREAK

"Well, even if she can take care of the child, there is of course, the fact that it could grow up to hate her. Or, she could hate it. She really did love Kyo you know. And having a child… Sent to replace him… She could be torn apart."

Shigure lifted the mug to his lips, other hand drumming on the surface of the round, glass table it rested on. Hatori nodded slowly, setting his chin on one hand thoughtfully, the other laying across the table, clutching his own mug.

"This, of course, is exactly what Akito wants," agreed Hatori, "to tear Tohru apart. After all, he does seem to blame her for the rotting away of the curse."

Aya hit the table, half in frustration, half to bring the attention back to himself. He pushed his long, silver hair over his shoulder, clasping his hands over the table, his eyes staring intention at Hatori. "But why on earth would he go about punishing her this way? I mean, if his plan backfires, and she loves the child… If the child loves her…" He trailed off, a misty look coming into his silvery eyes.

Shigure shrugged dully. "That's what we can't figure out. He has to have something else planned for the cat child. Something that would be sure to make our little flower miserable… If only we knew what it was…" His eyes hardened, and he set his coffee back down onto the table with a loud clink, some of it spilling over the edge. "I bet that damned Kureno knows. I bet he's the father. There's something not right about him.."

Just as it seemed Shigure was about to launch into a full-fledged rant, a hand shot up as a warning, Hatori, bringing Shigure back down to the strands of reality with which he himself was so well acquainted.

"Yes, we know. Don't let jealousy become your bride, Shigure. We are here for the well being of Tohru Honda, not for you to whine about your green-eyed antics."

At these words, the dog sank lower into his seat, hand reaching out and clutching the coffee, the anger that had dwelled in his eyes a few moments before, slowly fading away. He sighed very deeply.

"Right now… Until we can find out more of Akito's plans, I think we should focus on getting her out of the house. Making her happy. She cries every day… And now, she won't even come out of her room. Not since that fight…" His voice trailed away in embarrassment, and both him and Ayame shared a queer look.

But then, he picked himself up, forcing himself to continue. "She's never been this way before. You can see Yuki's worried about her. He's not the only one. Kisa, Hiro, and Momiji are living in a tent outside our front yard, and ask about her almost daily. This… Isn't normal. Grief is understandable, reasonable, even. But when one will not socialize, or simply even leave her room… I'm worried about her. Worried that the same fate will befall her that befell Kyo. And if that happens… we're falling apart already, what will happen if she dies?"

The dog's voice had slowly dropped to just above a whisper as he spoke, eyes intently staring at his steaming coffee. You could sense the fear in his voice, fear that had never been there before. It was clear to the three of them now, sitting around that small table, how much Tohru Honda meant to the Sohma family. If she was taken away from them, at this crucial point in their lives, all progress would be lost. Shigure let the silence fall for a few moments, and they all looked up, a single look shared between them. They would not lose Tohru Honda to Akito's misguided anger.

She simply would not die.