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: This is sort of a transition-episode, so I'm sorry that nothing too exciting happens here. Be warned, however, that the next chapter will be LONG. In fact, it may be the last chapter (it depends on how long it becomes).
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"I don't know what to tell you, Honda-san."
"But...but my dream! What if it means Kyo will be the first to die, and that it will happen during this week's storm?"
Hatori flicked the embers of his cigarette out the window, letting his gaze wander briefly over the clear afternoon sky before turning his attention back to his patient.
"It's only rain," he reminded her gently. Tohru was once again in the Sohma doctor's examination room, while Yuki and Kyo waited patiently outside.
"Gomenesai, I know I sound foolish," confessed the girl, wringing her hands nervously. "But you said everyone believed I might be the one to break the curse. What if that means my dreams are special? What if they are a warning?"
He seemed to reflect on this for a moment, then gave her a helpless shrug.
"I examined Kyo as you asked me to. I could find nothing physically wrong with him. His heart is in good condition."
"But Kazuma-san said-"
"I don't think Kazuma was speaking literally, Honda-san. He tends to see the more spiritual side of things, rather than the realistic side." Hatori sounded almost angry, as if he didn't like to talk about the karate instructor. "Gomen, Honda-san, but I've done all I can for you," he said, not quite managing to hide the frustration from his voice.
"Arigato gozaimasu, Hatori-san," said Tohru quickly, not wishing to upset the doctor further. She followed him back out into the waiting room.
"Let go!"
"Not until you learn your lesson!"
Tohru was startled to find both Yuki and Kyo grappling with each other as they rolled across the floor of Hatori's office. Yuki suddenly twisted to the side, flipping Kyo over him so that he crashed against the wall. There was now a long crack in the plaster where Kyo's head had struck.
"Stop this! What's the matter with you?" shouted Hatori. His angry cry was enough to separate the two combatants, who scrambled to their feet. Yuki looked slightly abashed, though Kyo continued to ignore everyone but his cousin, glaring at him furiously.
"I just finished giving the two of you physicals. Yuki-kun, I had better not have to do another exam on Kyo-kun to see if you've broken any of his bones!"
"Gomenesai, Hatori-san," said Yuki apologetically. "I forget how fragile Kyo-kun is."
"Oh yeah? I'll show you-"
"Stop it!" barked Hatori before the two teens could resume their fight. Throwing them a warning glare, he turned to Tohru and muttered, "The cat and mouse are cursed to never get along, but in my opinion, the real victims are those who are forced to live with them."
Thinking of the repairs constantly being made on Shigure's house, Tohru silently acknowledged the doctor's point. But Kyo and Yuki were also two of her dearest friends, and she counted herself blessed for having met them. If they got into a little trouble now and then... well, it was really the fault of the curse. They couldn't help it.
The curse. Though it had once seemed a minor inconvenience to the Sohma family, Tohru knew that the consequences were much more dire. That same curse now threatened their very lives. Hatori had told her that many believed she would be the one to break the curse, but how could she accomplish such a thing? Hatori didn't even believe in the dreams, which so far had seemed her only source for answers.
Maybe she needed a second opinion.
"Thank you for your help, Hatori-san," bowed Tohru, quickly leading the two boys outside. She knew that the doctor would be pleased to see them all go.
"So why did we have to get physicals, anyways?" grumbled Kyo, rubbing his bruised head.
"Weren't you paying attention?" asked Yuki scornfully. "Hatori-san said he wanted to make sure none of us had caught Tohru-chan's flu."
Kyo narrowed his eyes at Yuki suspiciously. "Since when have you stopped calling her Honda-san?"
Yuki sputtered indignantly, trying to find an explanation. Tohru quickly jumped in.
"I asked him to. It was a little silly for him to keep calling me that when everyone else at school calls me Tohru."
Kyo glowered, not fully convinced. Then something caught his attention.
"Wait a minute, why are we going deeper into the compound? The gate is back that way."
Tohru blushed. "Gomen, Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun. But I was hoping I might be able to visit the library while I was here."
"How do you know about our library?" asked Yuki in surprise.
"Well..." said Tohru, wondering how much she should tell them. After a pause, she reluctantly admitted, "I've actually been there twice before."
"Nani?" asked Kyo, his jaw hanging open. Yuki appeared similarly stunned, but said nothing as he waited for her to explain.
"Momiji-chan and Hiro-kun showed it to me. I...I just need to check something. It will only take a moment."
Yuki looked doubtful. "Are you certain this is wise, Tohru-chan? If Akito-san found out, we could all be severely punished. No one except the family is allowed inside the library."
"I'll be very quick," she promised him. She would never dare try going in alone, but if she had a Sohma with her, it might not look quite so suspicious.
"Well, you two can go get yourselves in trouble if you want," growled Kyo in irritation. "I'm already on Akito's black list, and I'd prefer to avoid more attention."
He headed towards the gate, looking over his shoulder as if he expected Yuki to follow him.
Yuki seemed to consider Tohru's suggestion, though he did not appear all that pleased with the idea. Kyo made a sound of disgust and stomped off alone.
"I will go with you, Honda-san," he said nervously, automatically shifting to her old title.
"Arigato, Yuki-kun," she replied gratefully. They hurried towards the forbidden library.
Yuki stood at the entrance, leaving the door open a crack so that he could peer out and see if anyone approached. He motioned for Tohru to quickly take care of whatever it was she needed to do.
When she disappeared down the aisles of bookcases, Yuki felt a pang of disappointment. A small part of him had hoped that Tohru didn't really have anything to search for at the library; that she really only wanted a chance to spend time with him alone in a secluded spot. He blushed at the thought, and chided himself for being so stupid. Tohru wasn't like that. He wasn't like that. Though if she had actually asked him-
He felt his cheeks burning and quickly turned his thoughts to something else.
He heard a moan of dismay at the back of the library. Suddenly worried, Yuki abandoned his post to search for Tohru.
"What is it?" he called out as he finally spotted her. He had feared they'd been discovered, but he saw no one else standing beside Tohru.
"Kureno-san.... He isn't here."
Yuki did a double take. Kureno?
"Tohru-chan, why would you think Kureno-san would be here? He doesn't leave the main house. He must always attend to Akito-san."
"But he was here before! I had hoped...." her voice trailed off as her head hung low in disappointment.
Yuki pressed a hand against Tohru's brow, wondering if the flu was making her delirious. "Tohru-chan, maybe we should return now to Shigure's house. You shouldn't exhaust yourself when you're ill."
"Maybe you're right," she said in a defeated tone. "I only wish-" she paused to stare at a roll of parchment that had been left open on the table. Yuki glanced down at it only long enough to see it was a long list of names, then lifted his gaze back to Tohru. She wore an expression of dawning realization.
"What is it?" he asked her.
"I think-" she began, still staring at the scroll. "Kureno-san left this for me to find. And I think I understand his message."
Yuki suppressed a sigh. "All right then, I really think it's time we go home."
To his relief, Tohru did not argue. They waited until the courtyard was clear, then ran down the library steps and into the safety of the shadows.
Yuki volunteered to pick up Tohru's graduation robes and turn in her textbooks, insisting that she spend the rest of the day in bed.
When he arrived at the school, he soon got the feeling that something was not quite right. It took him a few moments to figure it out, and when the realization came, he was quite literally stunned.
His fan club was nowhere to be found.
His actions at the prom must have upset the president so much that she disbanded the club. The thought of no more girls screaming his name down the halls came as a great relief to him, though he also felt a small pang of regret.
Yet what did he need fans for, now that he had the love of the only girl that ever mattered to him?
As he waited in line, Tohru's friends, Uo and Hanajima, anxiously walked up to him. They were concerned by Tohru's absence, but Yuki quickly reassured them that she had been to a doctor and should be fine after several days.
By late afternoon, Yuki finally returned home. He dropped the bag with their caps and gowns and climbed up the stairs to check on Tohru. Noticing that her door was closed, Yuki pressed his ear up against it. He could hear voices, but as he listened, he realized that it was only Tohru talking in her sleep.
He went back to his own room and lay on the bed, trying to find things to occupy himself. Ignoring the scratches on the roof from Kyo's restless pacing, Yuki found himself quickly falling asleep.
By the time he awakened, the sun was just peeking over the nearby hill, throwing a shaft of dawn light directly onto his pillow. Yuki groaned and rolled out of the covers, wondering if it was worth trying to get more sleep. Suppressing a yawn, he decided to check on Tohru again. He hoped she was feeling better, and that maybe today they could spend some time together.
Tohru's door was open, so he risked peeking inside. To his dismay, the room was empty.
As he lumbered down the steps, still half-asleep, he spotted Kyo sipping from a carton of milk. Kyo watched him warily out of the corner of his eye.
"Where's Tohru-chan?" Yuki asked, taking a seat at the table. He didn't bother adding an insult, feeling too tired to come up with anything creative.
"What am I, her sitter?" snapped the cat. With a growl of disgust, Kyo slammed the fridge door closed and left the kitchen.
Yuki waited for Shigure to appear, but it seemed his older cousin had already left for the day. Yuki went back to his room to get ready for school, hoping that when he was done, he would find Tohru.
But Tohru was nowhere to be found.
Kyo had already gone ahead. Yuki waited for as long as he could, knowing that he would now have to run to avoid being late, but there was still no sign of her.
When he opened the classroom door, just as the bell rang, he half-expected to see Tohru there waiting for him.
"What happened? Did you lose her on the way to school?" asked Kyo reproachfully. But Yuki could tell that he too was worried, as were Tohru's friends when they ran into each other at lunch.
"Maybe Shigure had to drive her to the hospital," suggested Kyo, voicing a concern that had been on Yuki's mind as well.
"No, he would have woken us up," said Yuki, trying to reassure Hana and Uo.
"Maybe it's the work of that president and her groupies," growled Uo. "I wouldn't put it past her to try and get even with Tohru for what happened at the prom."
"What do you mean? What happened at the prom?" asked Kyo in confusion.
"The important thing is that we make sure Tohru is okay," said Hana, quickly changing the subject.
But despite their efforts, no one managed to find Tohru for the rest of the day. There was still the small hope that she was with Shigure, for he too, had gone missing.
At the stroke of midnight, the door to the house swung open. Yuki and Kyo bolted out of their seats where they had been keeping a silent vigil, waiting for Tohru to appear.
They saw at once that it was Shigure, slumped forward in exhaustion. There was a haunted look in his eyes that silenced the two cousins before they could utter a word about Tohru.
"Foolish....foolish girl," the man muttered, collapsing into a chair.
"What happened, Shigure-san? Is Tohru-chan all right?" asked Yuki, unable to keep silent any longer.
"You went with her!" Shigure cried, glaring at Yuki accusingly. "You should have known better! Both of you!" he said, his gaze now encompassing Kyo as well.
Kyo swallowed hard. "I did-didn't do anything."
"That's my point! You should have stopped her! Now she has gone too far, broken laws even Akito could not forgive, were he so inclined--which he isn't!"
Yuki stared at Shigure in sudden realization. "Akito found out about the library...that Tohru has been there," he said slowly. "But there was no one else there! Nobody saw us!" he cried in defense.
"No human eyes saw you," said Shigure, shaking his head. "But there was a small sparrow taking shelter under the rafters."
Yuki and Kyo exchanged incredulous glances. Tohru had tried to tell Yuki that Kureno had been visiting the library. He should have been more careful!
"So...what happens now?" asked Kyo worriedly. "Where is Tohru?"
"Hopefully, somewhere very far away from here," answered Shigure, rising from his seat. "Tomorrow, the estate guards will be sent out on a hunt for her. Akito-san is adamant about having Tohru-chan punished and her memory erased. I'm afraid there will be no leniency this time."
He marched up the stairs without another word, leaving the two younger cousins to stare at each other in horror and despair.