FRUITS BASKET: WHAT MUST BE DONE
by Vashkoda
(Disclaimer: This work of fiction uses characters belonging to Takaya Natsuki and Hakusensha without their permission. I am getting no profit from it. I only do it because I think Fruits Basket is a great story, and I want to help keep it alive!)
Author's Note: I've watched the sub, but I have close to no knowledge of Japanese, so any corrections or comments would be appreciated.
---------------------------------------
Yuki hesitated at the doorstep. Was this really necessary? After all, maybe there was someone else he could go to....
Since when have you become such a coward? he chastised himself angrily. You can overcome this obstacle, just as you've beaten everything else.
Gathering his courage, he pushed open the door, sounding the small metal chimes hanging above the frame.
"Oh my heavens! Can it BE?"
Yuki found himself suddenly crushed in his older brother's embrace. Ayame released him only to call over his assistant, waving his arms emphatically at Yuki.
"Look, Mine, my little brother has come to visit me! My horoscope said that I would be blessed today, but I didn't realize how right it would be! I knew that it was only a matter of time before he came to see his oniisan. Oh how much fun we'll have! Come, I'll make us some tea-"
"I don't think there'll be time. You see, I came here for this," Yuki explained quickly, lifting up a black suit jacket. It had become crumpled in Ayame's hug. "It's a little old and I need to get it refitted." He paused, casting a glance at the aisles of women's costumes. "Er, I know you don't work on men's clothing, but I figured you'd be able to do this, and it saves me the trouble of finding-"
"Ah, you're here on business," said Ayame, his voice now serious. Was there a hint of disappointment there as well? "Well then we'll definitely have some tea. I always serve tea to my customers as we negotiate a price."
Yuki looked down at the jacket in surprise. "Will it be that expensive? I assumed all you needed to do was loosen up a few stitches-"
"Ah, Yuki! You know I could never charge my little brother!" cried Ayame joyfully, giving him another hug. "Why, seeing you here is compensation enough! Though I would prefer to just design you a whole new suit. I know just what I'd put on it! Some little ribbons here, and ruffles on the cuffs, and-"
"No, no, that's ok!" Yuki protested, horrified by the image of what his brother might create. "I just need this for one night. This one will be fine enough."
Ayame dragged him over to the far corner and began taking out his tape measure. Mumbling around the pins held in his mouth, he asked, "So, this is for the prom?"
Yuki wished he had kept quiet. "Hai," he acknowledged, wanting to say as little as possible on the matter.
"Ah, so will you be going with the beautiful princess Tohru?" Ayame asked slyly. "I still have that dress she tried on. I think she would look stunning in it."
"Baka," muttered Yuki in disdain. "That isn't the kind of thing you wear to a prom."
"So you are going together!" said Ayame, clapping his hands in glee.
Yuki bowed his head, hiding his face. "I...I haven't asked her, yet," he admitted reluctantly.
Ayame lifted a hand to his mouth in a gesture of fear and surprise. "Aren't you afraid your arch-enemy will ask her in your place?"
Yuki growled. "That idiot cat. He doesn't deserve someone like Tohru."
"But you of course, are perfect in every way. The princess could not ask for anyone better!"
The teen looked up at his older brother suspiciously, uncertain whether he was being mocked.
"Ah, Yuki," Ayame sighed as he clipped at the seams of the jacket. "Why must everything be a competition between the two of you? I feel so sorry for the poor boy."
Yuki glared at him. "You're my brother. I would think you'd be taking my side."
"Of course I'm on your side!" exclaimed Ayame emotionally, giving him another hug. Yuki cried out as the pins poked him.
"Oops, gomen!"
"Anyways, I'm not the one making a competition out of everything," insisted Yuki, rubbing his arm. "He's the one who challenges me."
"But couldn't you let him win, just once?"
Yuki made no reply. Just as Ayame began to worry that he might have pressed the issue too far with his younger brother, the other spoke.
"I have considered it, just to make him leave me alone," Yuki acknowledged slowly. "But for some reason, I can't make myself do it. Some part of me just won't let him win." He looked pensive for a moment, then shrugged.
"Besides, the neko's head is big enough as it is. I wouldn't want to make it explode," he pointed out with a smile.
Yuki left Ayame's shop in a troubled mood. Despite making light of their conversation, Yuki had felt very uncomfortable discussing Kyo with his brother. He himself didn't understand exactly why he acted the way he did around Kyo, or why Kyo was always picking fights with him. Shigure would joke that they were acting out against the deeper feelings they had for one another, but Shigure also had a perverted and overly active imagination. Kyo always insisted on proving himself better than Yuki, although Yuki didn't understand what particular thing fueled this obsession. There were qualities in Kyo that Yuki himself envied, although of course he would never admit them to his face. So why couldn't the two of them just accept each other for what they were and get along?
His thoughts turned to Tohru. She was the one who linked them together. Without her, he knew that relations would be a lot more strained between himself and Kyo. Yuki knew that Kyo felt just as deeply for her as he did. And as far as he could tell, Tohru shared her affection equally with both of them, although it had not yet progressed to anything romantic. Was it fair, then, to put her in a situation where she would have to choose between them?
But even if I don't ask her, Kyo will, Yuki realized, and reflexively, his feelings toward Kyo darkened. He even found himself running home, spurred on by the fear that Kyo had already asked Tohru to the prom.
He burst into the house panting, drawing startled looks from Tohru and Kyo. The latter was stretched out on the sofa, throwing annoyed glances at Yuki, who seemed to have woken him up. Tohru, on the other hand, anxiously rushed towards him.
"Yuki-kun, why were you running? Are you all right?" she asked him worriedly, dashing to the kitchen to get him some water. "Oh, you know that you're not supposed to run in your condition! You might have trouble breathing again!"
She returned quickly with a glass of water. "I was very scared for Yuki-kun when that happened the first time," she admitted softly, passing it to him. Yuki blushed, taking a long sip from the glass to hide his expression.
"It is very kind of Honda-san to be so thoughtful," he replied. His eyes strayed towards the sofa, where he noticed Kyo staring at him. Has he asked her already? Yuki wondered nervously.
Tohru gave him one of her trademark smiles. "I care too much about Yuki-kun to let anything happen to him."
Just how much do you care? he asked her silently. Kyo had already turned away, resuming his earlier nap. Yuki decided to wait until after dinner to ask her. Hopefully they could have a moment alone then.
Soon, wonderful aromas began wafting out from the kitchen. Shigure bounded happily down the steps like a little child, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. Kyo finally found the energy to get up, yawning and stretching noisily as he climbed off the couch.
Yuki impatiently watched them file into the kitchen. Just a little longer. But despite the anxious knot in his stomach, he forced himself to relax so that he could enjoy the meal he knew Tohru had worked hard to prepare.
There was a knock at the front door. Shigure poked his head around the kitchen entrance, a look of annoyance on his face.
"Who would be impolite enough to drop by during dinner? Maybe they smelled our little flower's wonderful cooking and came by to see if they could have some?" Troubled by the thought, Shigure pushed Yuki into the kitchen and urged him to begin hiding the food. The kitchen door was slammed behind him, so that Yuki couldn't see who was at the door.
"Kyo-kun, shouldn't we wait until Shigure-san is here to begin eating?" asked Tohru meekly.
The orange-haired teen was busy shoveling food into his mouth. "Didn't you hear him? He wants us to make the food disappear," Kyo mumbled, his mouth half-full. "I'm just doing my part to help."
"Baka!" scolded Yuki, slapping him across the back of the head. Kyo immediately rose to his feet and assumed a fighting stance, but Yuki pointed instead at Tohru and added, "You're supposed to wait until the one who prepares the food has taken a bite. You are being disrespectful towards Honda-san!"
Kyo glowered at him, his cheeks growing pink from both anger and embarrassment.
Surely Tohru wouldn't have agreed to go to the prom with someone so thoughtless? wondered Yuki. But Tohru was also the most forgiving and selfless person that he knew, and if Kyo had indeed asked her, she might have said yes just to avoid hurting him.
But then why weren't they saying anything about it? Surely Kyo would have been bragging about it, even right there in front of Tohru.
Shigure walked back into the kitchen, casting a disapproving look at Kyo's half-empty plate. Hoping to quickly change the subject, Kyo asked who had been at the door. Rather than reply, Shigure opened the kitchen door wide, revealing what lay in the room beyond.
The entrance hall was almost completely covered in flowers. Potted plants, bouquets, and individual long stemmed roses littered the floor.
"Did someone send those to Honda-san?" asked Yuki, throwing a quick glance at Kyo. But the redhead looked just as dumbfounded as Yuki felt.
"As a matter of fact, no," said Shigure, a smile rising at the corners of his lips. "They're for you." The older man handed Yuki a large card decorated with hearts. Yuki took one quick look at the signature inside and blushed, dropping the card.
"Oh, look at the beautiful flowers! Yuki-kun is very lucky," said Tohru, coming up from behind. Yuki nearly jumped, and quickly picked up the card and hid it behind his back.
"I don't want them. If you want them, you can have them," he stammered quickly.
"Now now, that's not polite, Yuki-kun!" said Shigure in a sing-song voice. "You can't give someone else the flowers that were meant for you! What would your secret admirer think if she knew?"
Yuki wanted the throttle Shigure.
Tohru began collecting the bouquets. "I will find a vase to put them in for you, Yuki-kun. Someone must think that you're very special. You can't just give their gift away."
Yuki caught Kyo grinning at him out of the corner of his eye. Was he behind this after all? Had he plotted with the president of that ridiculous fanclub to find a way to embarrass him in front of Tohru?
"Oh, Tohru, before I forget-" called out Shigure, halting the girl before she could reach the kitchen. "I have a favor to ask of you."
"Hai," acknowledged Torhu with a questioning glance.
"I was wondering...if you could go to the prom with me." Now Shigure was the one blushing in embarrassment.
"NANI?" cried Kyo and Yuki in unison.
The older man pouted, trying to win their sympathy as he explained, "I got asked to chaperone your dance. But being around so many young couples in love, it will remind me of how lonely I am, single and alone. It would ease my pain if I had a pretty girl like you to keep me company-"
"Pervert!" yelled Kyo, raising his fists. Yuki automatically held him back, though he was considering letting Kyo loose just this once.
"Hai, Shigure-san. I will go."
Kyo and Yuki turned as one to stare at her.
"Tohru..."
"Honda-san..."
Was that a look of relief on her face? She avoided their gaze and stared down at her feet.
"Oh, thank you, Tohru-chan! You have made an old man very happy!" he cheered. "I was worried that maybe someone else had asked you. Of course, I knew that Kyo-kun could only be going with Kagura-chan. And when I saw those flowers, I knew that someone else had plans to go with Yuki-kun. So if you'll forgive me, I took a chance that maybe you were still available."
"That's all right," said Tohru softly.
No, it's not all right! thought Yuki angrily. He waited for her to say something in protest; to argue that what Shigure was asking her was unfair. But Tohru continued to avoid their gaze, saying nothing as Shigure prattled on.
Yuki heard a door slam and realized that Kyo had left the room in disgust. He desperately wanted to do the same, but he couldn't make himself leave Tohru alone with Shigure.
Although at the moment, he didn't know which he was most furious at.
---------------------------------------
(Thank you for the kind reviews! And don't worry--she won't be able to put off the decision for much longer)