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Disclaimer: Okay. I'm getting tired of saying this: I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET ALREADY!!!
Chapter 14:
Kyo swallowed back about three thousand words and shook Tohru and Yuki. First thing in the morning, he gets waken up by that stupid Yankee on top of him, screaming for him to get up and that her precious Tohru is gone and he had to help find her. Now. The brown-haired girl began to groan slightly, and Kyo stopped shaking her, sitting back on his feet. Never mind that it was drizzling outside. Never mind that Kyo wanted to go back to sleep because of jet-lag. Never mind that Kyo knew they were probably on the roof anyway. Oh no. He had to get up now. Tohru finally opened her eyes, not recognizing the cat for a moment before trying to sit up. She failed, mostly because Yuki's head was resting on her abdomen. Damn rat. Damn, cold, heartless rat. Kyo stomped the thoughts out in his head and held back another thousand words, only releasing tersely, "Yankee and Goth Freak panicking. I'd wake Pretty Boy up and get downstairs before they smash another one of Shigure's desks."
The girl nodded and shifted the silver-haired boy's head from her stomach and adjusted herself into a kneel to wake the fore-mentioned teen up. Yuki opened one gray eye, looked at the pale, colorless sky and muttered something about planting techniques before closing it again. Tohru repressed her responding giggle and said again, this time slightly louder, "Yuki-kuuuuun!" There was no response, just the wind moving more silvery strands about the rat's head. He looks kinda dead until you notice his chest is rising and falling. Even so...The orange-haired boy crouched down next to the brunette, and complained loudly, already dreading the results, "Tohru! I'm serious! Shigure's stuff is in stake here! Leave him! He's bein' a selfish rat a-"
The rest of his sentence was lost as a white hand curled itself into a fist and landed a precise hit into Kyo's jaw, making the cat fall backwards further up the roof. Tohru glanced at the cursing injured cat worriedly before turning her attention back to the task at hand. Nothing about Yuki had changed except for the fist stuck into the air. Otherwise, he was exactly the same: half of his face hidden since he was curled on his side. Tohru used her secret weapon, leaning closer to be sure Yuki heard her.
"Time to wake up, my Sleeping Prince."
That did it. The boy exploded in a puff of purplish-gray smoke into a violently red-faced pure white rat, swimming furiously in the air for one moment before Tohru reached out and caught him. The cat retreated back off of the roof, muttering ominously to himself the entire time. Well, at least the bastard is awake... But Kyo's unfortunate personal hell was yet to end.
"ORANGEY!"
"Aw, go away! It's raining!"
"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?! DID YOU FIND HER?!"
"Shut up! Yes, okay? Yes! She's on the roof with Yuki!"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOIN' THERE?!"
"Like I'd know! Quilting, for all I care! Now, let me go back to sleep!"
Then something he really wasn't expecting perfected the weirdness. The tall blonde girl threw down her pipe, and kissed him. Her thoughts were along the lines of Hell yes! His were along the lines of Dammit! This wasn't in my plan for this morning! SOMEBODY WAKE ME UP! Uo pulled back, a satisfied grin plastered across her face. She'd wanted to do that for ages. Kyo, on the other hand, was just about to give up on finding any sanity in this world. First, damn girls keep fucking kissing him when he thought they hated his guts, and then changing character so quickly, he was seriously beginning to doubt that they were real. But the Yankee?
"You-You...You-"
"What of it? Spit it out, Lover Boy!"
"What the heck is with you and giving me freakin' nicknames? ORANGEY? LOVER BOY? KYON-KYON? YOU PEOPLE MAKE NO FUCKING SENSE!"
"But...Kyo..."
"NOW, IF YOU'LL EXCUSE ME, I AM GOING TO SLEEP. WHEN IT RAINS, I DO THAT."
The orange-haired teenager skulked away, not noticing that he was leaving behind the seemingly untouchable Uo with her heart torn out and bleeding. He hadn't even noticed that she'd called him by his real name. For the first time. Ever. The blonde grit her teeth angrily, about to punch something, but she repressed the thought, substituting the action with bending down to pick up her faithful iron pipe. For once, just once, couldn't a guy bloody like her? Sure, she was masculine. And intimidating. And strangely obsessed with her two friends, but, Jesus, she had feelings. Most of the time they had been revolving around Tohru and everything Tohru related, but about two years ago, her thoughts had begun to wander...towards the only person who had ever dared spitting back. Damn it all. She was crying. Strong girls don't cry, strong girls don't cry...C'mon Arisa, strong girls don't cry!... Strong girl or not, Uo receded into the woods and cried. And if that fucking orange-top ever came within two feet of her again, he was either dead, or going to lose his virginity. And it was right about then that Kyo slumped into his pillow and thought single-mindedly about sleeping before it hit him. DAMMIT! FOR GOD'S SAKE, I COULD HAVE WARNED MYSELF ABOUT THAT EARLIER! YOU KNOW, BEFORE SHE KISSED ME AND I FUCKIN' SHOVED HER OFF! HOW THE HELL DID I END UP LIKING HER ANYWAY?! GODDAMN BI- Any further thoughts were immediately killed by him falling dead asleep.
Author: (cough) Sorry, I just HAVE to say this because I've always wanted too... MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE ROOF...I didn't need to say it, I just wanted too...(stuffs geek-self into small cage)
Yuki sat down on Tohru's palms and draped his rat-tail across his stumpy legs. Any minute now... He looked up at the brunette and coughed, trying to hide his embarrassment. Even if he was someone of such high poise, no matter how hard he tried, whenever Tohru directly called him "Prince"...well...
"Tohru, you should probably put me down. I'll be changing back in any inconveniently placed moment."
"It's okay!"
"No, Tohru, really."
"It's worth it!"
The white rat tilted his head to the side, curious.
"What is?"
The girl holding the white rat blushed.
"N-Nothing, it's just...you're so cute when you're a rat!"
For such a simple sentence, it came down on the silver-haired boy like a ton of bricks. It was another one of those things that escaped his carefully checked manner. Yuki detested being called cute. He knew it was a way of expressing love, as Tohru herself had told him so long ago, but the truth still stood: anytime he was called cute, he was usually being mistaken for a girl. But in this case, I think I can stand it...Listlessly, his thoughts drifted. Until he noticed the position of the sun.
"Tohru! What time is it?"
"I-I don't know."
"We have to get downstairs!"
"Why?"
As usual, the curse took the perfect "inconveniently placed moment" to change Yuki back. Almost automatically, by the clearing of the smoke, Tohru had thrown Yuki's clothes in his general direction and buried her head in her arms against the roof. Goddamn curse choosing to deactivate right when Tohru asked me a question. Once he'd pulled his undershirt and dojo pants on, he called over his shoulder, "I'm decent!" Tohru shifted into a kneeling position and glanced cautiously his way before turning to him. He didn't bother with the top two buttons of his shirt, adjusted the thread-bare cuffs, and answered calmly, like nothing had even happened, "The downfall of Akito. Hatsuharu said meet him here at five in the morning."
"Oh. Breakfast! Up-chan and Hana-chan! Laundry! Five o' clock?"
"Relax, Tohru. Believe me when Haru will be late. I don't think he's ever woken up before six in his life."
With that, Yuki stood up, and offered his hand to Tohru along with one of his usual somewhat translucent morning smiles. He helped her up onto her feet, but didn't go of her hand as the two carefully picked their way along the roof. Her clumsiness plus his morning lack of balance raised the likelihood of one or both of them falling from the roof. They climbed down the ladder, Tohru first, and stood there mindlessly for one moment before taking off into the house. As soon as their feet hit the floor, they were met with a barrage of comments.
"TOHRU! THANK GOD! WHERE WERE YOU!?"
"Tohru has returned. Perv-...Shigure-san, your mind is safe."
"Thank you Hana-chan. Ah, my lovely flower and Yun-Yun! What were you two doing alone?"
Tohru answered Uo, already fretting about the implied threat Hana-chan had given Shigure, and Yuki just glared at Shigure. He chose to remain silent. Conversation wasn't his strength in the early hours, and his insults were even less graced. He bowed, excused himself, and practically sprinted into his room for cover. He didn't want to answer Shigure's question. He didn't want to hear Hanajima make blunt threats. He didn't want to see Uotoni fawning over Tohru, even though he could tell from her red eyes she had been crying recently. Most of all, what he wanted to do was sleep. Okay, okay, that's what he wanted physically, but morally, he wanted everyone to stop being so goddamn nice.
In any short period of time, he would be coming face-to-face with something unspoken. And all of this compassion, this...this...caring made him want to scream. Everybody was so goddamn comforting, but that didn't solve shit. It made him feel like he was separate from them. Something to feel pity for. The freak boy/rat that couldn't look at artistic calligraphy without throwing up. The freak rat/boy who was so above everyone else, he wouldn't let girls who had just poured out their hearts to him hug him. Because that wasn't him. That was the result of him. The faint, shriveled shadow of what he was supposed to be. Rather like a flower that preferred sun who was planted in the shade. Great. First I'm a scab, then I'm flower. I've got to stop using metaphors for myself. Gray eyes screwed shut, he hid his face in his blanket. So much black. So much hate. So much anger. So much fear. It wasn't mine, but he MADE it mine. I had to take it. was the closest to him, so I had to take it. Take it back. It wasn't mine, and I didn't want it. Take it back. Take it back. Take it back. A soft hand touched his upper back, and Yuki stiffened. Someone was here with him. Tohru tucked some of hair behind his ear and said quietly, "Hey,"
"Honda-san, please...I don't..."
"Sohma-kun, you don't have to."
He winced, realizing he'd switched back to his original formalities. Reptant, he pulled himself into a technically vertical position and added, "I'm sorry. Tohru. Tohru Tohru Tohru Tohru. There." She smiled minutely and replied, "That would be me. And I can't say I know how you feel, because I don't. But, please, believe me when I say you don't have to go away to feel. Show me."
"Okay. Tohru, not Honda-san, did you notice?"
"Notice what, Yuki-not-Sohma-kun?"
"Uotoni-san had been crying."
"Yes, I noticed."
"Do you know why?"
"No, but I'm worried. I've almost never seen Uo-chan cry before. It must have been something horrible."
"I would think so. Tohru..."
It was only a moment. Just that one moment that she saw it. She didn't know. Maybe she'd always known it was there, but hadn't looked close enough to see it. In that one word, her name, she could see it. Its dark walls, its bottomless floor, and its never-ending expanse that swallowed up any joy. And he was just there, as he always was, somewhere in that place, calling out for someone. Something. Anything. Before, it had been friends. Then, it had been family. And now, it was comfort. More specifically, her. Tohru.
"Y-Yes?"
"Nothing Akito says is true. Nothing."
Tohru realized her hands were frozen, one still on his back, the other on his shoulder. Yuki sounded like he was warning her, preparing her for something horrible. But underneath it all, he was trying to convince himself. He wasn't sure of it.
"None of it, right? None of it!"
"Yuki..."
Suddenly, he controlled it. And the panic sank back underneath, stored away until it would wither away. Perhaps it was best. Yuki unclenched his hands, letting the blanket go, and tried to smile. He failed, but Tohru knew he was trying. He was saving it for Akito. He had been saving it fro Akito for years. And, soon, he could let it out. Quite possibly the most destructive thing among human beings: pure, unfiltered, unrefined, unconfined anger. A wave of fear rippled down Tohru's spine. Is is okay to let him save it? Does Yuki have enough anger to...to...kill Akito-sama? But his next words sent relief after it.
"We're fine, Tohru. Nothing could ever make it otherwise. Not when you're near me. And definitely not when I'm near you."
To a normal person in a normal relationship, that would just be glorified words, just something to say. But it was true in this situation. It wasn't a gesture of love. It was deeper than that; a statement of pure attachment. And it wasn't false. As Tohru kissed his forehead to take her leave, she knew it wasn't.
--
The front gate to the Sohma main house was big. Let alone intimidating. Tohru checked her hair ribbon again nervously. The fact that the crimped cream bow was perfect was a sign of her unease. Beside her, Yuki followed her example, tugging self-consciously at cuffs of his shirt, carefully picking up his feet so his shoes weren't scuffed. Akito wouldn't even see his street shoes, but it was a habit. No matter how much he hated Akito, whenever he came within a mile of him, Yuki couldn't help but try to obtain his best. On Tohru's other side, Hatori appeared perfectly calm, but in his head, he was erasing Kana's memories over and over and over again. He had to stop Akito. It was worth it. It was for Kana. It always had been for Kana. He knocked on the gate impatiently, and silently, Momiji opened it. A rarity. Yuki swallowed, and stepped into the inner grounds, everything gray in the winter morning. Momiji closed the gate again behind them just as silently, and disappeared from whence he came.
The halls were equally deserted. No noise, just the muffled sounds of socked feet hitting wood. With every step, Yuki could feel his heart plunging into a faster rhythm. He knew the way in the maze of hallways. It was the only path he'd ever taken when he entered this portion of the house. His feet took him there, and with each step, parts of his hope faded. Something he had learned to do as a child: erase all hope before you reach Akito. It'll make it hurt less. And to some extent it worked. He looked up. They were at the door. The dreaded door. Hatori hesitated for a moment, hoping Yuki might knock, but reached out and rapped the wall near the paper door.
"Hatori, enter."
The voice was chilling. Calm, perhaps somehow affectionate. But the razor undertone dislodged any sense of pleasure. Tohru took Yuki's hand, and the disappeared into the semi-lit room after Hatori.
"Ah! Yuki! Tohru Honda! Why do I have the pleasure of seeing you two as well?"
No one replied, just kneeled. Akito hadn't expected an answer, but something was wrong with the way his Yuki was looking at him. Something had changed.
"Hatori?!"
"Somebody explain!"
Akito was already beginning to lose his temper. There was silence after the outburst, and the three people on the other side of the room didn't move. The head of the Sohma family threw himself down onto the floor, shifted onto his side so that he was facing them, and waited. Finally, it was Yuki who spoke.
"Akito. The zodiac have come to a decision. We are removing you from the head position of the family. Collectively, we've been abused in all manners by you, and we feel it necessary to remove the power of further doing so from you. Will you comply?"
"You can't! You can't get rid of me!"
"As you seem unwilling to comply, actions will be taken against you."
Akito stood up, strode over to the three, and crouched. Slowly, his pale fingers reached out and traced Yuki's jaw. He purred gently, "Yuki, Yuki...You can't do that. You know it can't be done. All that waits at the end is more pain..." The fingernails scraped across the skin, a thin line of blood following them. Yuki stiffened, but his face remained impassive. "Come now, Yuki...We've so many things that we have left to do together. And Hatori," Akito turned his head to look at the dark-haired man on Yuki's left. "Hatori, you wouldn't dare hurt me, would you? You're all too precious for me to give up so easily. If you take back what you just said, I might be able to forgive you..."
There was no reply. Hatori just staring ahead, seeing other things. Akito's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his fingers grabbed the front of Yuki's shirt, curling into a fist. But something had changed. Suddenly, Yuki's gray eyes flashed, and he pushed Akito away from him.
"Get away from me!"
"Dearest Yuki, that wasn't very nice at all. You're making me angry. And you know what happens when I'm angry."
"You have no right! Stay away from me! From Honda-san! From Hatori! From Kisa and Hiro! From Rin and Kyo and Hatsuharu and everyone!"
With that, Yuki leaped to his feet, quickly followed by Akito and Hatori. For one moment, tense silence drifted across the room, and then Akito said, "How disappointing, Yuki. I see you simply won't submit. It's a shame, because I love you so much. I love all of you so much, and yet, here you are-"
"Bullshit. It's all bullshit. Nothing you ever say is true. But you know that. You need to take it back. Take it all back."
"Yuki, it's all true. If it weren't would I have told you?"
"TAKE IT BACK!"
In three words, Yuki managed to pump everything he felt and convey it. He practically screamed the words, his entire body straining to release it all at once. Yuki didn't even try holding it back this time.
"TAKE IT ALL BACK! ALL OF IT! EVERY WORD! EVERY TOUCH! EVERY DAY! EVERY NIGHT! EVERY YEAR! I DON'T WANT IT! TAKE IT ALL BACK!"
"DON'T YELL AT ME! DISGUSTING VERMIN!"
Yuki had never dared to hit Akito. It was a self-restriction that helped him distinguish himself from Akito, even though every time Akito spoke of him, Yuki could feel the primitive feeling boiling his blood. But any control had been lost. Before Hatori could even react, Yuki had reached out and slapped Akito. Not one of those half-meant blows he used on Kyo. This time, he'd been saving up for it. The pure force made Akito crash into a wall, his guard totally discarded. For a moment, the slight man slumped against the wall, shocked, but quickly stood back up, smiling cruelly. He knew Yuki was stronger than him. So he used his last weapon against the rat.
"There are so many things I could do to her..."
The silver-haired boy froze, and glanced hastily back at the brunette, who, although she hadn't moved, was shivering slightly. Her fingers were digging into the fabric of her skirt, clutched so tightly in her grip that her already pale knuckles were deadly-white. Tohru...what could Akito do to her? Then the head of the family answered his question.
"Ah, Hatori...you remember your Kana-san? Sweet, loving Kana-san?"
Yuki heard Hatori curse under his breath, and he knew Hatori had finally found a reason to join the physical violence he hated so much. Akito pushed some of his black hair out of his eyes and crooned, "I was so sorry...But now I think she deserved it. That bitch, trying to take my Hatori away from me...And now Tohru-kun as well...But that's what happens when you mess with my zodiac." He leaned slightly to the right so Tohru could see him clearly, and continued, "Tohru-kun...let's see how well you put up when you see your poor Yuki-kun without his eyes. I wonder how you'll put up with the blood, oh so much of the bl-"
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!"
Simultaneously, Yuki and Hatori attacked the head of the family, eyes blazing. But Haru, Kyo, and Shigure all suddenly came between them and Akito. For one terrifying moment, it looked as if Yuki would be able to breach the security, but Kyo pushed him back.
"RAT BOY! HE ISN'T WORTH IT!"
Yuki forced himself to back away from the clot of people, and nodded silently, gray eyes still burning with rage. He dropped to the floor, breathing heavily from the extra adrenaline, and turned to check on Tohru. For one moment, Akito was relieved. Perhaps it wasn't the entire group of zodiac that wanted to remove him. But any comfort was immediately lost when Kyo spoke those words. They can't mean it. I'm the reason they exist as they do. A voice beside Akito's left ear answered his question.
"Akito, you're going to lose everything."
The person in the kimono froze, Hiro at his side.
"We can't forgive you. This is final. This iswar."
And the ram joined the other zodiac, who were all glaring over their shoulders at the Sohma head. It was strange that they wanted to protect Akito from Yuki and Hatori when every single one of them wanted to kill him themselves. Finally, Tohru spoke up from behind the Sohma zodiac.
"They really do mean it, Akito-sama."
"You don't know what you're in the middle of, idiotic girl!"
"Maybe I don't know everything, but I know enough."
It was the first time the zodiac, excluding Yuki, had ever heard Tohru sound definite.
Hiro spoke the disturbing words as the people filed out, backs to the head of their family.
"Akito, you're going to die."
And they locked him in his room along with his evils.
Outside of the room, Uo and Hana glanced around themselves uncomfortably, unsettled by the unusual quiet this wing of the Sohma house possessed. The door slid open, and the zodiac all walked out, Tohru in the very front. Hana drew back, already knowing the situations and feelings of everyone by their waves. But Tohru noticed her trying to move away and brought back closer with a "Hana-chan!" Reluctantly, the black-haired girl joined Tohru and Uo in the center of the group. The older zodiac were talking seriously in hushed voices, Hiro close by so he could listen in. Haru and Kyo, all dislike for each other forgotten, were speaking in an urgent way with each other, both making furious hand gestures. Nobody knows what they thought they do. Yuki concluded his observation of his present family and turned his attentions back to Tohru and her friends. He said in the most polite voice he could think of, "Uotoni-san, Hanajima-san...what exactly are you doing here?"
"Us? Oh, we were just-"
"Sohma-san."
Hana's tone of voice didn't make the name sound like a question. But none-the-less, everyone looked over at her. The black-haired girl shook her head and strode over to Hatsuharu, where she raised herself up on her tip-toes to say something into his ear. The ox's eyes widened, and he shook his head. Suddenly, "Goth Freak" had replaced Kyo in Haru's conversation. Dejected, the orange-haired cat wandered over to Tohru and Uo.
"Oy, Yank,"
"...Yeah? What?"
"Can I talk to ya?"
"You are, genius."
"Nah, well, yeah. But I meant...in private, ya know?"
"Oh. Yeah."
Tohru stood between them, unable to decide who was redder. Finally, she understood the situation and went off to join Yuki somewhere else. As she left, she looked over her shoulder past her brown hair, confused but happy. I was wondering, and now I know...Good luck, Uo-chan. You deserve something, after all that you've done for me. She slipped her hand into Yuki's, making him blush slightly, and let the somehow comforting silence reign. The brunette smiled up at the rat, and he smiled back, trying not to think about everything else. It was so easy to think everything was perfect when Tohru was smiling. And unfortunately, she seemed to be able to make that uncannily true. Yuki reached out with his other hand, brushing some of her bangs from her eyes. The reason why Akito had singled out Yuki was because he was perfect. He singled out Tohru even more because she wasn't. She wasn't perfect. She always won't be perfect. And it was wonderful.
Akito could hear their voices fading down the hallway as the group left. They were leaving him, and they weren't coming back. Mindlessly, she began to chew on a bit of hair, managing to pull the strands form his scalp. This isn't freedom! I'm the one locked in my room, just as I am locked in this position, this house. If the zodiac were to leave him, then there would be nothing left for him to control. Control is empowering. Empowering is power, of course. And power leads to freedom. They just don't understand. Their purpose is to serve me. And I'm...
Unsatisfied.
They're negligent to their duties as part of the Inner Sohma family. Therefore, their only purpose has been obliterated. They have no reason to exist. And that's...
Unforgivable.
So let them fight me. Let them do as they wish! It won't make a difference! The bird will remain caged, no matter if the bars are bamboo or gold. I no longer need them. And I'm...
Unconquerable.
THAT is true freedom...
And I want to be free...
She looked at the locked door angrily. Then, finally, something occurred to him that she'd never thought of before.
But...what IS freedom? And does it have a cost? Of course it does; your life. They're free, you aren't. They're free because of you. And that's...
Unthinkable.
Okay. remember the confusing possessive pronoun thing in ch 13? It applies here, except when Akito is in the zodiac's presence, she is always referred to in masculine form. And I'll finish this part in ch 15, most likely. Otherwise, I have nothing to say. Only two chapters left...(15 16)