Title: Ripples by the Pond

Author: Gia

Rating: PG

Pairing: none

Time: 90's. During the Mabudachi Trio's high school time.

Summary: A wish Ayame made in the past sends Yuki reeling back in time. Finding himself sharing a class with the Mabudachi Trio themselves, Yuki must find a way to keep his secret hidden or risk losing himself in the past forever.

Disclaimer: The story here is non-profit and for purely entertainment purposes; nor is it affiliated to Hakusensha or any other publishers of Fruits Basket. The manga belongs to Natsuki Takaya and the plot belongs to me.

Author Notes: Eheh… it's been awhile, eh? It's a lousy consolation but if you've noticed, I haven't uploaded anything for my other stories either. Sometimes I'm busy, yeah, but most of the time… it's just scraping together some kind of motivation… I've got plenty of ideas on how the story will continue but actually getting to that point… its tricky! But don't worry, I'm still trudging onward! ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

Akio reached out and laid a comforting hand on his own cold hands. "I'm sorry but that is my honest opinion."

Yuki silently shook his head. "You're wrong. I'm going to get back to my time."

"Yuki…" There was a sigh. "I think you need to stop fooling yourself. I guess I was wrong to…indulge in this idea you had but enough is enough."

Yuki looked up at him. Akio wasn't saying what he thinks he's saying…is he?

Akio pursed his lips with determination. "I've already called them. They say that you're case isn't irreparable. They can help you where I couldn't."

The sincerity behind Akio's words was devastating. He honestly thought…

"Akio-san, listen. You're wrong. I'm not crazy and I'm not lying—"

"Yuki," again that comforting hand squeezing his own, "you're going to be late."

"I—what?"

"You're going to be late."

Ripples by the Pond

By Gia

Chapter Eleven: Suspicions at New Year's, A Possible Discovery

Yuki blinked blearily up at Akio's face. The last vestiges of his dream faded from his eyes as Yuki took in the bemused expression on the other man's face. "I—what time is it?"

Yuki sat up in his bed, ignoring Akio's exaggerated sigh. "Late. I get it." Keeping one hand over his yawning mouth, Yuki barely paid attention to Akio's morning lecture on the dangers of low blood pressure.

"Yes, yes…" Yuki muttered after several minutes later, coming out from his bathroom refreshed and dressed for school.

"Oi, Yuki, are you listening—?"

"Yes, yes…" Yuki repeated, giving a tired nod in Akio's direction, though he was careful in walking down the stairs. 'I don't have time for breakfast…'

"—so I think you should start drinking—"

"Ne, Akio-san, we're both late." Yuki pointed at Akio. "You shouldn't be lecturing me if you're still not dressed."

"Eh?" Akio looked down at his patterned pajamas. "…eheh. I'll be down in five minutes." And with that, Akio raced back up the stairs.

Yuki shook his head exasperatedly, but found that he wasn't really annoyed since Akio had waited up for him. The reason for his lack of sleep was because of that night at the Sohma Estate. His heart had been racing even when he had already lain down on his bed; Hatsuharu's young face still swam before his eyes. If Haru told anyone other than the three… he couldn't imagine the kind of punishment they might receive.

The next morning, Yuki had clutched a cup of hot tea in his hand as he waited for the phone to ring. The Mabudachi Trio had phoned multiple times over the rest of vacation, inviting him to go out with them to various places. Yuki had declined all offers until Ayame once again threatened to carry Yuki out of the house; but not once on any of their outings did they mention any possible slips in their crime of sneaking a stranger into the feast. In fact, Ayame had only seen to informing Yuki about how to clean his hand-made robes properly.

Yuki sighed at the memory, a small smile tugging at his mouth. It was all the assurance he needed to have to know that Haru hadn't said a word yet to the others. Yawning once more into his hand, Yuki headed over to the couch and let his head fall back. Not a moment later, Yuki's eyes drifted shut.

"Yuki, Yuki…?" he was being shaken awake again. Suppressing the urge to yawn, Yuki opened his eyes to stare blearily into Akio's concerned ones.

"Oh? Are you ready to go, Akio-san?" His only reply was to feel Akio's hand on his forehead.

"You're a little warm…" Akio trailed off uncertainly. "How do you feel?"

"Just tired, I guess. Really, what's gotten into you?"

Akio pursed his lips. "Why don't you take some medicine just in case before we head to school?"

Yuki yawned again. "I'm fine. Really, I'm just tired." He put his hand down away from his face to stare at Akio. "See? Just yawning. I'm fine. We should go to school now, or we'll be even later."

Akio finally relented but inwardly decided to keep an eye on him at school. 'Hmm… when did I get so paternal? Ah, I feel so old…' Akio hung his head.

"Akio-san? Are you alright?"

"Ah!" Akio's head shot up and he grinned sheepishly. "Let's get going."

It seemed to take longer to climb the stairs than it usually did for Yuki. He didn't feel sick, he decided. His body just felt really tired. He couldn't explain it. He hadn't done anything that could've overexerted his body. The only thing he could think to help is plan to sleep earlier in the evening.

As soon as he made it to the top of the stairs, he actually had to pause to get his bearings. It was like he'd run a mile. Shaking his head at his fatigue, Yuki walked out into the hallway and spotted the Mabudachi Trio.

He intended to raise his hand and wave back at the three Sohmas who were waiting for him in the hallway, but all he ended up doing was yawning into his mouth again. When he finally made it over to the three, Shigure was already halfway through the possible reasons Yuki could be tired. And they all centered around…beds.

Sometimes, Yuki tried not to understand Shigure's logic.

"We've got Physiology next." Ayame spoke up as they were walking to their classroom. He nodded and smiled to several boys who were walking in the opposite direction.

"We'll be starting the dissection today." Hatori supplied, shifting his school bag into his other hand.

Yuki glanced at Hatori through the corner of his eye. "What exactly are we going to dissect?"

Shigure gave a strained smile as he quickly glanced at Ayame before focusing his attention to Yuki. "Snakes."

Yuki's eyes widened and he glanced at Ayame. It was like recalling a memory from long ago, but Yuki distinctly remembered Ayame saying he had given them a proper burial somewhere around school. But now that he thought about it, he knew it would be impossible now. Dissection was going to be happening in other classes all day. Maybe it was the way Ayame had wished it to be. He couldn't do anything for his fellow snakes in the past, but he could change their ending in his stories. Such a sad thought Yuki thought to himself, catching himself staring at his brother.

Once he became aware, he realized he could now feel Shigure's stare boring into the side of his head. Clearing his throat uncertainly, Yuki turned to Ayame, "Do you dislike snakes?"

'Yes, that makes more sense. I'm concerned because I think he doesn't like snakes, not because he is a snake.'

Hearing the question directed at him, Ayame shook his head. "No, snakes are fine. I just don't like the idea of dissecting them. It's horrible." Ayame actually shuddered so Yuki sent him a sympathetic glance.

Two boys, also heading to the same classroom, overheard what Ayame said and shifted closer. "You shouldn't worry, Ayame-san." One of the boys said.

"Yeah, they're already dead. They won't feel a thing." The second boy gave an encouraging grin.

Yuki inwardly winced at their words and nodded to them with a forced smile as they walked on ahead into the classroom. He pretended not to notice when both Shigure and Hatori whispered encouraging words to Ayame. Yuki took a seat on the stool at an empty table, not even flinching when he realized the snakes were already laid out on trays at each table. The smell of formaldehyde was pervasive in the classroom but Yuki was actually thankful for the odor in keeping him awake.

Shigure took the seat next to him, snapping Yuki out of his idle contemplation on the snake in front of him. "Be my partner, Yuki?"

Yuki snorted when Shigure actually batted his eyelashes as he asked. "Do I have a choice? We're assigned partners."

Shigure pouted in reply.

Before Yuki could make a comment about Shigure's antics, the teacher chose that moment to arrive at the classroom. As far as Yuki could tell, he—Haruhi Ikeda—was the youngest teacher on staff. He had above average height, enough that his hair almost reached the top of the doorway to the classroom. He gave off a roguish feel, as if he were better suited to physical labor than teaching science. The primary reason Yuki liked him was because he was immune to the Mabudachi Trio's charms, or rather, he found them more amusing than distracting.

"Send a partner up to pick up the trays and instruments." He instructed, hands already pushing his sleeves up his arms. In front of him, there were already several trays laden with the newly cleansed tools.

"If you've got extra juice," he grinned when two boys sent him faint looks, "then the other partner can go to the sink and pour it out."

Once everyone had returned to their seats, Ikeda told them to pull out their dissection books to turn to an already dissected diagram of the snake.

"Everyone's dissection should look like that once we're done." Ikeda called out. "Now make a long incision down the center of the ventral surface, from the cloacal opening to the throat."

The teacher took to walking down the aisles, nodding as he passed each table. "Once you've made the incision, remember to carefully pull back the skin and pin it down on either side."

He suddenly strode towards the far side of the room where Makoto Saizo was seated with Naoto. "Hey, hey, easy there. I said to be careful."

Yuki couldn't help but smile as Saizo grumbled his acknowledgement. 'So unlike his younger brother.'

"You're going to have to cut the membrane layer underneath." Ikeda pointed out towards Saizo's snake. "Then carefully pull it back. Don't rip the skin or there won't be anything to see."

Ikeda straightened up and continued walking around the tables. He stopped at Yuki's and Shigure's table, nodding with approval at the snake's pinned body. "Once the snake is opened, observe how it looks inside. You should all be able to name some of the major organs."

At that last statement, the boys hurriedly bent over their books to see the labels for each organ. Naoto snickered quietly at his partner when the other slammed his nose painfully into the book.

"And start identifying the parts on page 38." Ikeda instructed again, rolling his eyes at Saizo's swearing before moving off to Ayame and Hatori's table.

"Something wrong?" Ikeda asked looking pointedly at Ayame's disgusted face. Hatori sat up straighter in his seat, nudging Ayame to get him to drop his expression. "No, sensei, we're fine."

Ikeda raised his eyebrow. "Then why don't you finish pinning—ah, ah, I think I'd like to see Ayame do some of the work."

Hatori, who had already been pulling the skin back, looked up at Ikeda. "Sensei?"

Ikeda sighed. "Come now, you heard me. It's already been sanitized," Ikeda stated, now addressing Ayame directly, "so you don't need to worry about touching it."

Ayame pursed his lips but made no move to take up where Hatori had left off.

Yuki, along with Shigure, had been watching quietly from the side. When it was clear that Ayame wasn't going to participate, Shigure had begun to rise from his seat. Yuki understood Ayame's reluctance, but on the other hand, there was nothing to be done. The snakes were dead and Ayame couldn't change that. He was going to make a scene, fail the dissection lab, and now it looked as if Shigure was going to share the same fate.

What can I do to help? Yuki wondered, seeing Ikeda turn back to their table when he noticed Shigure's movement in the corner of his eye.

Inwardly sighing, Yuki abruptly scooted back from his chair and stood up. "Ikeda-sensei, I—oh." He brought his hand up to his head. His vision was suddenly swimming and his lungs clenched painfully—it felt like he was going to choke or black out.

I'd almost forgotten what it was like to have another asthma attack. Yuki thought dazedly, falling to his knees and coughing into his hand.

Ikeda immediately hurried over, ("Makoto, tell the nurse!") pressing a hand to Yuki's forehead. "You're burning up Suyama." There was a small undertone of exasperation in his voice. "Students normally stay home if they're sick, you know."

Yuki tried a grin but it was broken by a renewed bout of coughing. Shigure, who had knelt down from behind, rubbed soothing circles on his back to ease the strain. Despite his appreciation at Shigure's gesture, Yuki wished all the other students would stop staring. He didn't like attention normally, whether it was his apparent 'beauty' or asthma attacks.

When it seemed the worst of his coughing had abated, Ikeda pulled him up and into his arms.

"Sensei—wa!"

Ikeda rolled his eyes at Yuki's scarlet face. "Got to get you to the nurse somehow, Suyama, seeing as how you don't seem fit to walk just yet."

He turned back to the other boys who had abandoned the lesson in favor of talking. "Alright boys, turn to page 87 in your textbooks and start reading."

There was much groaning all around before the students grudgingly turned back to their books.

"Eh, Hatori," the boy drew his eyes away from Yuki to stare at his teacher, "watch the class while I take Suyama to the office." Hatori nodded slowly, his eyes glancing back down at Yuki's flushed face.

"Let us come too Sensei." Shigure suddenly added, stepping beside Ayame who looked determined to follow the teacher. "We can help pull the door back for you."

"That takes one person." Ikeda replied wryly. "But debating won't get us anywhere. Let's go."

And with that, the odd foursome headed to the nurse's office.

Yuki couldn't help the flinch when the nurse's hand came towards his face to rest on his forehead. Intellectually, he had accepted that his transformation wouldn't occur in the past but instinctually, his body had yet to accustom to the touch. And what's the point in feeling my forehead when I've already got a thermometer in my mouth! Yuki thought to himself as he willingly opened his mouth to deposit the stick in the nurse's hand.

"A thirty-nine…" the nurse muttered to herself before looking back at him. "You should be in bed resting, not here at school."

Yuki could do nothing but shrug. "I didn't feel that bad this morning."

The nurse merely sighed before firmly pushing him back to lie down. "I'll get some medicine and you just lie here. Maybe Akio-san can drive you home during his break."

I'm always pulling him away from work. Yuki couldn't help but muse. He watched her walk away and only then did he allow his eyes to stray towards Ayame and Shigure. The two had kept their distance during his check-up but finally approached when it was over.

"How are you feeling?" Ayame asked, putting a hand to Yuki's forehead.

"Just hot I guess." Yuki muttered, lightly pushing Ayame's hand away. "You'll both get sick too if you keep touching me."

"Your concern is heartwarming, my dear Yuki!" Ayame crowed.

"But the damsel in distress shouldn't be worrying about her knights in shining armor!" Shigure added.

Yuki rolled his eyes.

The door to the infirmary slid open as the nurse returned with the medication. "You two can go to class now," she said after handing Yuki a glass of water to wash down the taste, "he's sick not dying."

"We just can't help but worry over our dear—!"

Ayame had no chance in finishing his sentence because a pillow had been chucked at his face. Yuki pretended to fluff up his remaining pillow under his head. Shigure's wide-eyed stare shot back from Yuki's oblivious expression to Ayame's shocked one.

The nurse smiled indulgently at the scene but firmly shooed them out. "I think that's a good sign of Suyama's recovery." She replied to their objections.

She turned back to Yuki, pausing only for a moment to pick up the fallen pillow. "I don't condone throwing school property," she began, "but it was amusing to see Ayame silenced with a pillow."

Yuki could only laugh in reply.

Some time later, Yuki didn't know how long, he found himself waking up in the infirmary. 'Did I miss any classes?' he wondered, sitting up in the bed to look around. The curtains were drawn on all three sides so he couldn't see anything but the sunlight streaming in and casting shadows. 'How many classes did I miss?'

He eased himself off the bed and drew the curtains back. He didn't see the nurse anywhere. Yuki briefly glanced out the window and caught sight of several boys tiptoeing past. Three in particular caught Yuki's eye immediately.

"What are they…?"

"What are they what, Mr. Suyama?"

Yuki jumped a little and turned around. The nurse was standing in the doorway and staring at him. "Oh sorry, just," Yuki wiped a hand across his forehead, "wondering how long I've slept."

The nurse smiled kindly and motioned him to sit back on the bed. She felt his forehead, not registering Yuki's flinch at the touch. "You're still a bit warm. You've only slept through one class—it's lunch now, if you hadn't already realized." She added as an afterthought.

Yuki blinked. He thought he would've heard the school bell ring but he must've been more tired than he realized.

"But are you sure you feel up to returning?"

Yuki smiled and nodded. "I feel a lot better now."

"Well, alright then." She let him go reluctantly, pushing his bentou box into his hands after he assured her that he'd take it easy for the rest of the day.

The only thing on his mind was on spotting those boys pass the infirmary window. From what Yuki could think of, they were heading to the back of the school. Yuki never knew the three to eat back there, always choosing open spaces where many other students would drop by to say hello. He walked through the hallways, only managing small smiles to the other boys that greeted him. Yuki's first assumption that he felt better was demanding to be changed because by the time Yuki had made it outside, he was already flushed.

Yuki gave himself a moment to catch his breath. To be in such poor condition was a little shameful. He'd gone through more than just a fever and he'd never been in this kind of shape. Once he felt able to continue walking, Yuki hurried as much as he could until he was outside. Perhaps the knowledge that he was closer to finding out what was going on that Yuki was able to reach his destination without finding any more trouble in breathing. What he came upon, however, caused his own steps to falter as he took in the scene before him.

The shade offered by the apricot trees covered about four or five boys standing behind Shigure and Hatori. Four of them were holding onto plastic boxes that held a multitude of plastic bags. It didn't take Yuki long to figure out that it held the dead snakes. The others who weren't holding on to baskets held shovels in their hands. Yuki watched in silence as Ayame directed them where to start digging. Yuki was only surprised that a teacher hadn't arrived on the scene to break things up. Either Ayame was overwhelmingly lucky or he had taken certain steps to insure that the area would be clear during lunch time.

It took the boys twenty minutes at the most to dig up the soil and place the packages inside the trench they had dug. Yuki watched all this in silence, even as Ayame had kneeled down and moved the dirt with his own hands. It felt like he shouldn't intrude on this solemn event, even if he was sure that his presence might even be welcomed. The real reason why he didn't step forward to help was because of a memory that had suddenly come to his mind; a memory of the day before he woke up to find himself stuck in the past.

It seemed so long ago ('but it was long ago, wasn't it? At least months!' his mind reasoned) that it had become a distant memory. Ayame appearing unexpectedly at Shigure's home; Ayame wasting no time in launching into yet another story about his humanitarian feats in high school.

"—and I took the snakes and gave them a proper burial under the apricot trees in the back of the school! I couldn't bear to see them mutilated by the hands of my own peers!"

That was what Ayame had said that afternoon. Yuki had only absorbed the statement but didn't acknowledge it as anything more than exaggerated truth. But once again Yuki was proven wrong. It had happened—happening right in front of him. If he were to come in now, how would that affect the future? Would it affect the future?

'Will I be able to get back to see if it has?' came unbidden from the depths of his heart.

It was, perhaps, Yuki's strongest fear. Unvoiced, but wailing loudly inside of him.

"Ahem."

Yuki turned around and found Ikeda's exasperated face. The teacher had undoubtedly noticed the absence of his lesson's materials. "Ikeda-sensei, I—!"

He shook his head and Yuki fell silent. Clearly he was going to witness his own classmates get in trouble but what did that mean for him? Should he say something? But there was nothing that could excuse what they were doing.

"The Sohmas are quite a bit of work, aren't they?" Ikeda asked, surprising Yuki by sending him a smile. Ikeda turned back to the scene; the boys had all just finished their work, the shovels were cast aside beside the empty compartments. Ikeda sighed. "But as a teacher of this school…" he trailed off significantly. He started forward but paused when Yuki asked him to wait.

"Ayame, he…" Yuki felt himself flush when Ikeda raised an eyebrow at him. "He only meant to lay them to rest."

Ikeda continued to look on with amusement as Yuki's blush only increased. There was a cry from ahead of them and it was loud enough to cut the embarrassed silence that had been between them.

One of the boys had finally noticed them and quickly pointed it out to the others. Several boys looked ready to bolt but they all stayed their ground when Ikeda turned away from Yuki to regard them. "Alright boys, should I guess at whose idea this was or will he step forward?"

Without missing a beat, Ayame calmly stepped forward.

Yuki couldn't help but blink in amazement at this action. He had expected some grandiose gesture or exclamation about the injustice—but there was nothing.

"Come along then." Ikeda said, motioning for him to follow, surprising all by turning around and walking away instead of making sure Ayame heeded his instructions. Despite some of the muttered complaints from the other boys, Ayame merely raised a hand to calm them. Yuki watched as Ikeda passed, followed by Ayame. He wanted to say something but there wasn't anything to say.

Ayame seemed to sense his predicament because he surprised Yuki by winking at him. It was déjà vu all over again because Ayame had done the same before he had been taken away after the red-light district fiasco. Yuki managed a grudging smile in return as the two walked back into school. The boys who had been watching all this in silence immediately broke out in murmurs on what Ayame's fate would be. Hatori was quick to disperse them with a few choice words until only Shigure, Hatori, and Yuki remained.

"Yuki!" Shigure called, motioning Yuki closer to them. "I thought you were still at the nurse's office."

"I was," he began, now standing directly in front of the two, "but I felt better so I got out of there."

"And headed here on a whim?"

Yuki flushed uncomfortably. "I saw some of them pass the window."

"Ah."

There was a pregnant pause, neither side saying a word. Yuki briefly wondered—not for the first time—about telling them that he was spotted by Hatsuharu that night they had sneaked him over. If Hatsuharu had told them then Yuki would've expected some sort of confrontation; that is to say, Hatori attempting to erase his memory of the incident.

But it had been several weeks since that night. Yuki had resumed his daily activities and the dinner was never brought up again. The only evidence of their daring adventure was the set of robes hanging in Yuki's closet. Sometimes, Yuki would run his hands over the fabric when he came to the closet to hang his uniform or to take out his sleeping clothes. It was something Yuki indulged in when he found himself wondering about the future, or rather, his present.

"…—en't eaten?"

Yuki blanched when he realized he had been silent for too long. He glanced down at the bentou box in his hands before looking back up. "What?"

"Have you eaten yet?" Shigure repeated, gesturing towards his hands.

Yuki shook his head and wordlessly followed as the two headed back to their frequent lunch spot. He couldn't place it but something had changed in his relationship with these two. They weren't being cold or distant towards him, but Yuki still couldn't help but a feel a thread of suspicion being directed towards him. Quite unintentionally, he only felt unthreatened when Ayame was around to attract attention elsewhere.

As soon as they sat down, Shigure set the conversation. Despite his animated gestures, to Yuki it felt like the first day he had come to this school all over again. As he robotically fed himself, he was aware that Hatori had been glancing at him almost every ten seconds. This continued for quite some time before Yuki set his chopsticks down and turned to him. "Is there something wrong?"

Shigure stilled, cutting off the rest of his sentence and standing up with his food. "I just realized I had a meeting with Okita-san." It was obviously a lie; there was too much cheeriness and the fact that Shigure was already walking away before he could finish his line proved it to be a lie.

Yuki stared after him before turning back to Hatori. He repeated his question and waited in silence.

It wasn't long before Hatori set his own lunch down and turned so that he could sit and face Yuki directly. There was a determined expression on his face but something akin to sadness flittered behind his eyes. Yuki instantly felt alarmed.

"Hatori what—!" Before he could finish his question, Hatori reached out with both hands, gripped his upper arms, and wrenched him forward until he was literally splayed out across Hatori's body, legs tangling with the other.

Yuki instantly pushed against his chest but the hands pressed into his skin as a warning. He gave a small cry of pain but inside he was furious. What had gotten into Hatori? He realized with blinding clarity when Hatori took his right hand away and placed it gently over his eyes.

He's going to…

"NO!" he cried, wrenching himself from Hatori's hold and falling back against the grass. His heartbeat was beating faster than ever and he matched Hatori's shocked stare with his own. Neither boy paid any attention to the fact that Yuki's cry may have attracted attention. It was fortunate then that there was no one around to have witnessed the scene.

Yuki breathed deep to calm himself but it only succeeded in causing him to start coughing rather violently into his hand. Hatori made a move to come closer but he stopped when Yuki raised his hand as if warding himself from him.

"No, stop," Yuki winced at the hoarseness of his voice, "don't come…" he couldn't finish the rest of his command when another bout of coughing came.

It was just as well because he wouldn't have been able to stop Hatori anyway; the boy had ignored his attempt and had easily kneeled by his side to help him sit up. He slid his hand across Yuki's back, rubbing gently while his other reached up to feel his forehead. Yuki hadn't even considered that Hatori might have used this moment to once again place his hands over his eyes and take his memories away.

"Should I get the nurse?" Hatori asked quietly.

Yuki shook his head rapidly. His coughs had abated as soon as he was able to sit up properly. It was a lot to happen in such a short span of time. Yuki didn't know where to begin to address what happened.

Hatori suddenly shifted until he was no longer kneeling beside him but rather sitting down next to him. He leaned his right shoulder against Yuki's left, but otherwise, kept his hands away from him.

Yuki idly eyed their lunch which had been knocked away during their brief scuffle. Some of the rice had spilled over and both of their chopsticks were lying in the grass. "What were you going to do?" he asked suddenly, choosing to stare at his ruined lunch than to face Hatori.

To his credit, Hatori tensed only briefly before relaxing. "I was going to," he stopped.

Yuki felt a familiar anger coil in his chest; it was the same anger he felt as a child when Hatori had taken his friends from him. It was easier to remember the sadness he felt, but the anger that had burned through him that day, he pushed far back into the recesses of his mind.

"What," his hands clenched into fists, "were you going to do?" he repeated.

An icy tone had suffused his voice; it was the same one he used with Ayame all the time. Yuki had also forgotten this familiar habit when he interacted with the younger version of his brother. The fact that he did made him feel angrier.

He raised his eyes to stare at the side of Hatori's face. "Tell me," he began until he noticed a tear gather at the corner of Hatori's eye.

Yuki fought vainly against his own feelings but he resigned himself to the fact that Hatori's reaction was enough to suck the anger out of him. He turned away.

Now that anger no longer clouded his mind, he realized that he was asking Hatori to reveal his power to remove memories. Was that even possible? Hatori had no obligation to tell him of his powers; he was more likely to make something up than reveal the truth. Yuki didn't know if this thought could make him feel any worse than he already did.

"I had to finish what I started," Hatori whispered.

Yuki froze. "What?"

"I was going to erase your memories."

If anything, Hatori's admission only caused more tension to seep into Yuki's body. 'What has he done,' Yuki thought, 'he's revealed too much. I know already but I can't. How can I react?'

"You can't believe it but I know Hatsuharu saw you. I saw his memories and I know he saw you. But now he," Hatori drew in a ragged breath, "he doesn't know anymore."

Yuki's mind was racing with this information. Hatori had removed the incident from Hatsuharu's mind? It was scandalous; the dragon had no right to use his ability at his own whim. Only the head of the family could dictate where this talent would be directed. What Hatori had done… no one else had done before.

But now a new thought plagued him. If Hatsuharu no longer knew that Yuki had been snuck in, then the threat was gone, wasn't it? Or did Hatori prefer that neither party was aware of the other?

"I was going to do the same to you."

Yuki inwardly flinched at Hatori's words.

"I assumed you were afraid of what might have happened. You never said a word about it to any of us. So it would've benefited everyone if you had forgotten about it altogether."

'Ah,' Yuki thought, 'that answers my question as to why you would try it on me.'

"Does this make sense? Am I making any sense to you?" Hatori turned towards him. "Do you believe what I'm saying?"

He couldn't nod too quickly; he had to think it through. Hatori had offered no evidence to his claim, other than the fact that he knew Haru had seen him. It could mean that Haru had told him or that Hatori had viewed Haru's memories with his own power. Either case was likely but Yuki had known Hatori far longer than the boy thought he did.

"I believe you," Yuki began, drawing out his words so he could think about the rest, "but why did you wait so long to do it?"

Hatori regarded him carefully. "Ayame was against it."

Yuki couldn't help it. He tensed once more before relaxing his posture. It was a small action but because Hatori was watching carefully, it hadn't gone unnoticed.

"So now what?" Yuki asked.

"I must apologize," he started but Yuki only shook his head.

"Forget it happened." Yuki couldn't help but grin at the irony of his wording. "I understand," he paused, "somehow. So just forget it happened."

The other boy nodded seriously and they once more lapsed into silence. If Yuki thought before that their relationship had changed, then it was nothing compared to how it was now. Yuki had an intimate piece of knowledge about Hatori and both Ayame and Shigure would know this. Would it drastically change how the four of them interacted?

A small groan caught Yuki's attention and he glanced questioningly at Hatori. It didn't take long to deduce from Hatori's lightly tinged cheeks that the groan had come from Hatori's stomach. The silence could only last so long before both of them began to laugh. It would've surprised anyone who walked by to see the two so caught up in their laughter. In a way, it released all the tension that their bodies held ever since the New Year's feast; the inexplicable fear they felt when they celebrated the success of having a stranger at the New Year's feast, the horror at the possibility of having their actions known, the possibility of memories being taken against a person's will.

All of this vanished and whatever misgivings Yuki felt about changes happening to their relationship—to their friendship—were instantly wiped away as their laughter dwindled down.

Then bell to signal the end of lunch finally tolled.

Yuki stood up before Hatori did and turned to give the taller boy a hand. Hatori accepted it and the two stood side by side. "Shigure wasn't going to come back, was he?"

Hatori shook his head. "He went to go check on Ayame."

"And to avoid interfering," Yuki added for him as he bent down to pick up his lunch. He closed the lid and straightened up. "Right?"

"Right." Hatori looked pensive for a moment, already clutching his closed bentou box in his hands. "Yuki about what I told you…"

"Your secret's safe with me."

Hatori surprised Yuki by bowing deeply before straightening up. "Thank you."

It took a moment for Yuki to get over his initial shock. "You're welcome."

The two hurried back inside the building, joining several stragglers in the hallway on the way to class. Yuki thought that after today's events, he had managed to grow closer to Hatori. He was beginning to understand his aloof cousin a little more; it was an occurrence that probably would have never happened in the present but somehow in the past, it had happened.

It was a little disconcerting to realize that the day was only half over and yet so much had occurred since that morning.

He had come a long way since his first meeting with the other Sohmas. In some fashion, Yuki had lost some of his unfriendliness towards them. Their persistence had won out in the end, he realized. He had grown closer to them even when he meant to keep some distance between them.

It was a daunting thought but as Yuki slipped into the seat for his class, he couldn't deny that this revelation had warmed his heart considerably.

AN: I'm finally, finally done with this chapter! I wrote the first half like two years ago and finally finished it into the wee hours of the morning. Thank you for reading! I hope you can leave some thoughts on what you thought and (hopefully) look forward to the next chapter!