(Disclaimer I do not own Fruits Basket, you knew that already right? Please review on what you think so far!)

Chapter Thirteen: Falling Behind

In the refectory Kakeru, Yuki, Haru and Momiji all sat around a table, waiting for Rika to appear. She had left class in such a rush and they were contemplating if she had gone home. Then again Kyo was not here either so it was probably not the case. Perhaps they were talking about the issues they both had.

"I hope Rika cheers up soon-" Momiji mused, taking a sip of his blackcurrant juice. No-one seemed to utter another word out in the open and the atmosphere was getting increasingly choking the longer the silence lingered. They all had things they wanted to say but every word was hushed in their throats and they refused to utter anything. Yuki sighed, placing his hand to his forehead, a migraine was settling into his brain cells and it throbbed violently at regular intervals. He just knew something was going on and it was not favourable. He ardently hoped Rika was okay, that she was not upset anymore, that she would not shed any tears over him, that she was stronger than that.

"Maybe we should go and find her-" Kakeru said, breaking the silence.

"No-one knows where she went to" Haru mumbled, his dark eyes scanning Yuki's worried countenance, it was apparent that he was restless. Kakeru noticed also and allowed his own eyes to read Yuki's eyes. They beheld a deep sorrow that no medicine could cure, it was something far greater.

"YunYun, you feeling okay?" Kakeru asked, trying to lighten the mood of his comrade. Yuki shrugged;

"Fine I guess. I am just concerned about Ms. Saito"

"I think everyone is" Haru muttered, resting his head against his hand as his eyes diverted their attention to the door. Anytime Rika would arrive through that door and it would be their turn to discover what had occurred.

She sat at the bottom of the stairs, hand across her mouth, her body trembling violently as the realisation hit her like a rock. He had just kissed her as if it was nothing and it felt wrong, wrong on so many levels. Rika closed her eyes tightly, allowing newly formed water droplets to drop from her eye lashes and down her cheeks, smearing her makeup. Her heart hurt so much, it felt as if there was a large hole in her chest and with every beat her heart uttered it felt as if her body was being savagely ripped in two. It hurt so much and she could not take it anymore. Placing her hands over her face she cried, and she cried so hard. Her breathing became an arduous task and the strength seemed to just drain out of every limb. Why had Kyo done this to her? She would never be able to look at him in the same way again, it was all over. Their friendship was now nothing but a shattered mirror and now it was impossible to put it back together.

"Rika?" A small voice was heard from behind another door to another room. She refused to look up, she did not want anyone seeing her in this state, and it hurt too much. She continued to cry, slowly suffering in silence. Rika did not notice that the person who called her name was a girl from her class, the girl known as Kayuri. She possessed dark curly hair and hazel eyes and was perhaps similar in appearance to Rika.

"Rika sweetheart what is wrong?" Again no response, just more tears. How could she possibly explain the torture that she was going through? She had never experienced feelings for any boy in all her life but now she had and the thought of not being able to hold him, to kiss him, to call him hers killed her inside. Suddenly she felt small arms wrap around her and a body settle beside her, it was Kayuri. She held Rika as she continued to cry. She had no idea about how long she was crying for but one thing was for certain, this pain was the exact replica of the bullying she received back at her old college. The same pain that had induced her to self harm.

"Rika please come on, tell me what's wrong-" Her words were strangled in her throat so the only noises Kayuri heard were muffled groans and whines, nothing more. It was apparent that she was incredibly distraught as her whole body convulsed violently in her arms.

Rika did not notice when Kyo appeared from the bathroom, she did not notice when he turned to look at her with his soft amber gaze and she did not see when he left the hall and disappeared as if he were a mere mirage. It was his doing, all of it. Why had he done that to her? All she ever desired was to be close to Kyo but he took it a step too far by kissing her. The kiss felt different to in her dream, it felt wrong and she had frozen for a moment. She was unsure of what she was meant to feel because all she felt was horror. In her dream she felt happy and serene and it was perfect but in reality it was far from that, it was vile and wrong in every way. It was as if he took something important from her. Kayuri kept her gentle hold of Rika, slowly rubbing her arm to quell the tears. After some time Rika felt her voice return to her and decided it would be a good idea to talk;

"It's about Kyo" Kayuri blinked curiously;

"What about him?"

"It's all his fault-" she mumbled, her body still trembling slightly under the stress. Kayuri still kept her arms wrapped around the broken girl and reassured;

"I am sure everything will work out-"

"No Kay, no it won't. Everything is such a mess-" she muttered, feeling her voice start to break again. This wasn't right, things were so perfect a few days ago, why couldn't she go back in time, and go back to then? A time where it was serene and calm and perfect.

"Come on Rika, don't think like that" Kayuri said.

"Everything is ruined… everything" she mumbled, her lip quivering again as her hands still covered her face. The thoughts of him being with Tohru cursed her mind, the images slowly destroying her.

"How is everything ruined?"

"Kyo kissed me-" she explained, Kayuri's eyes widened at her statement. It was as if it was the first time she had heard of Kyo kissing anyone.

"Is that why you're so upset?" she asked and Rika nodded weakly. Of course it was. If the circumstances were different then she would have jumped at the chance but not this time and definitely not today.

"Well, maybe he likes you?" Kayuri mused, trying to be helpful. Rika shook her head;

"No Kay, he is going out with Tohru. He is just messing with my head and I can't take it anymore!" After some thought Kayuri managed to lift Rika up from the stairs and lead her out of the building. She needed to go home, she needed rest and to get away from the subject that was troubling her. Kyo.

Back at the refectory everyone remained on edge, waiting to see Rika's small figure arrive into the room. She did not; many other girls came in but none of them matching her description. It was as if she had vanished off the face of the Earth.

"Something isn't right-" Yuki mused, his eyes never leaving the door.

"Maybe she went home?" Haru mumbled, boredom settling into his bones. Yuki shook his head. Rika would never just go home for no reason unless it was important but even so he could not explain the sickening feeling that had congealed inside his stomach.

"Kyo isn't here either-" Momiji muttered, looking around for a flash of orange hair, he saw nothing. It was suspicious that both of them were nowhere to be found at the same time. Surely this was not coincidence. Kakeru chuckled and blurted out;

"Maybe they are screwing in the bathroom-"

"KAKERU!" Yuki cursed angrily, making him wince. Since when did Yuki get so touchy? Kakeru held his hands up in defence.

"Hey, it's only a thought. I only said what the others were thinking-" Haru sighed, this was getting them nowhere. As the deafening silence consumed them once more Momiji noticed something important and called out;

"Kyo is coming in, but I don't see Rika-" Immediately everyone's eyes and ears diverted their attention to the image of Kyo. His amber eyes diverted his gaze to the gleaming eyes of his cousins and Kakeru. It was obvious they were to enquire about Rika's sudden disappearance but how could he confess it was his doing? He slowly walked over to them, feeling every step begin to drain him of his energy. The look in Yuki's eyes said it all; things were not going to go well. As Kyo settled his figure into a seat beside Momiji Yuki was the first to speak;

"Where's Ms. Saito?"

"How the hell should I know?" Kyo grumbled, already getting irritated with Yuki's mannerisms. He knew that Yuki was not prepared to ignore this issue and he was prepared for the fisticuffs.

"Don't give me that Kyo; it's obvious you have been with her. What the hell have you been doing?" Kyo looked away, he did not feel the need to explain himself to Yuki, and after all it was none of his business.

"It's really none of your business you damned rat" he cursed.

"I believe it is you stupid cat, especially when you decide to screw around with my friends. Now that really upsets me-"

"Oh boo hoo~" Kyo mocked, rolling his amber eyes at the violet haired boy. He could not care less about what Yuki desired. He needed to keep out of Kyo's affairs.

Suddenly Yuki stood up, knocking his chair to the floor, alarming everyone. Slamming his hands on the table he growled;

"Quit with your god damn sarcasm you idiot. I swear to god if you have upset Ms. Saito you'll be taking a trip to the hospital-" It was now Kyo's turn to stand up and knock his chair to the floor, which resulted in the entire population of the refectory to watch the commotion unfold.

"I'd like to see you try you little rodent" Kyo mocked, a devilish grin scarred his countenance as the anger bubbled within. Kakeru, Momiji and Haru merely watched the scene unfold; it seemed too risky to intervene. Yuki moved his position until he was in front of Kyo, his eyes demonstrating the anger that he was capable of bestowing upon his cursed head.

"One more word from you and I swear you'll regret it-" Yuki warned, his fists clenched in anger. Normally Yuki would keep calm and never lose his temper but his time he could not just stand back and watch. Kyo smirked;

"I repeat, I'd like to see you try-" Yuki instantly swung his fist and it collided with Kyo's face, sending him tumbling to the floor. The population of the refectory gasped and gossiped amongst themselves upon witnessing the outburst of violence from the College Council President. Yuki looked on at the cat who was trying to recover from the punch, that had really knocked him off guard and for some reason Kyo did not have the energy to fight back. He knew he deserved this, and much more. He struggled to get to his feet as Yuki's eyes burned into his body. Kakeru, Haru and Momiji could not quite believe their eyes; Yuki had actually lashed out at Kyo and knocked him to the floor. It was almost unreal.

"Maybe that will teach you to quit messing with people's feelings-" Yuki muttered, before turning around and walking out of the refectory, down the hall and around the corner. He was gone, he needed to cool off.

Kyo finally got to his feet and placed hand to his jaw where that force sent him flying. It actually hurt; Yuki was sure pissed off with him to punch him that hard. He saw many eyes gleaming at him at what had just occurred. He knew he deserved it, he should have never kissed Rika, he knew it had upset her greatly but he felt a compelling urge to do it. It was as if it was right but it was apparent it was not. Had his heart deceived him? Slowly he settled his aching body into a chair; his face throbbed with the pain that Yuki bestowed.

"You alright man?" Kakeru asked, still shocked about the whole fight. Kyo weakly nodded;

"Yeah-"

"Why didn't you fight back?" Haru enquired, looking at Kyo with concerned eyes. He merely shrugged, feeling sorry for himself.

"He had a good reason to lash out like that-" Kyo mumbled, his head drooping downwards. He was such a fool and there was no way in hell Rika would ever forgive him for his actions. Everything was ruined.

"Even so, he completely decked you!" Kakeru blurted out, almost disappointed in Kyo's reaction to Yuki, as if he longed for him to stand up for himself. Kyo sighed, it was true. Yuki had given him a powerful punch but that did not matter right now. All that mattered was the problem in his own mind, the battle that was raging between his head and heart.

Kayuri and Rika walked through the car-park. It had been decided that Rika would go home to rest and forget about the day. It had been a bad day for everyone it seemed. Kayuri had her arm linked with Rika's to try and make her feel at ease, that some-one was here looking out for her. Rika's face told the crucifying story of events, her emotionless dark eyes looking at nothingness, the dark circles that encased them becoming darker with every second that passed, the way her face looked solemn and sombre and the fact it was obvious she had been crying.

"Let's get you home so you can rest and forget about everything" Kayuri said, trying to offer support. Rika weakly nodded, her heart feeling as if it had been torn in two. Why did it hurt so much? Kayuri noticed a figure from the corner of her eye and stopped. It was some-one she recognised. Coming out of the college building was none other than Yuki, is face expressing nothing but anger.

"Yuki!" Kayuri called out, giving him a wave of her arm to signal to him. His eyes looked across for a moment before realising who she was and then steadily he trudged towards them. Rika did not even bother to raise her eyes up to the image of Yuki nearing her. It was too much effort.

"What's wrong with Ms. Saito?" Yuki asked when finally in range. Kayuri looked across at Rika before explaining;

"Kyo kissed her and it has really upset her so I said that she should go home" Yuki clenched his fist once more, remembering the punch he had bestowed upon that cursed orange top. Now it had been worth it. Instead of concentrating on Kyo, Yuki diverted his attention to Rika who now was nothing but a shadow of her former self. He gently rubbed her shoulder and mumbled;

"You want to go home Ms. Saito?" she weakly nodded, feeling her chest begin to tighten once more. Yuki glanced across at Kayuri and said;

"I'll take her home; you go and tell Bob the reason why we are both absent"

"Okay Yuki, no problem-" she beamed as Yuki took control of the situation. Slowly both he and Rika walked through the car park and were soon out of the college gates. Kayuri watched as they both trundled down the road, Rika still her solemn self. She sighed, things had gotten so hectic in such a short space of time and it was wrong. It was Kyo's fault but a part of her wanted everything to get sorted and get better. After all, wasn't this a part of fate?

(Poor Rika! Good on Yuki for hitting Kyo! Thought and opinions please and review! Always appreciated.)