Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fruits Basket. I'm just a crazy fan. =)
Kyou's feet pounded against the pavement. The blur of lights and glare of dark window shops sped through the corner of his eye. His body felt sluggish under the steady rain. But the anger fueled him. He had lost. . he had lost. . .the thoughts swirling in his mind.
He recalled, with no small sense of irony, the pride he felt that day. The day he had finally beat Yuki. For years he had tried to best the deceptively frail looking boy, trained months with Shishou when he could, and it wasn't until he had nearly achieved his black belt that he had finally caught him in battle. The memory was always one to bring a smirk to his face, despite Yuki's lack of disappointment, . . his cool admission to defeat. It had taken some of the glory out of winning, but for once the others had looked at Kyou, and recognised something beyond a curse.
But Kyou had failed to notice, failed to see, that while he strove so hard to win the wrong battle, Yuki was slowly winning the one that really mattered.
He never truly saw it coming. One day they were all teenagers living under one roof with Shigure, their verbal banter resounding through the thin walls of a sleepy little house and the next, Kyou was taking home a black belt, and Yuki was taking home the small gold band now slipped firmly over Tohru's slender finger.
He had been away for summer camp when it happened. The rush of excitement over his improvement quickly dashed under the severity of words a black belt was helpless to defend. And now, for all his achievement, he suddenly felt empty.
So empty. The word itself echoing from the hollowness he felt inside.
He struggled to push the blur of thoughts away, stared at the blur of his feet instead, beating fiercely against the slick road in awkward rhythm, unsure of whether it was rain or tears now clouding his vision, nor really caring. Orange hair matted down to his slightly tanned forehead, his clothes dishevelled and clinging to him slightly, as though they too shrunk from the rain while the outside world had faded. Shadowy figures melded into muddy puddles he failed to notice. . . failed to notice again, the lone figure stepping quietly into his path.
****
A thin layer of sweat coated his body. Short quick breaths moaned softly against the heavy patter of rain as his body gravitated towards her body, pulled by that unseen force he could not escape. Their voices cried out in unison as his body slowed with laboured breaths.
But he was falling. His body colliding into hers one last time before
Poof!
His already flushed cheeks burned crimson. A combination of panic, frustration, . . utter mortification burned through him and for a moment he refused to look at her, lowering, instead, his purple orbs to the floor.
Without a word, Tohru picked him up and gently placed him on her belly, running a finger over his soft fur and giggling softly.
"Yuki," she paused and blushed, contemplating, as though she were using it for the first time, the intimacy of the word.
Yuki looked up in surprise at her bemused smile, the contemplative expression lit up by the utter radiance with which she now glowed in the dappled moonlight.
"Aishiteru." She looked at him.
A jolt ran through him. Mingled love, gratitude and heart ache ate at his heart as he clambered off her belly. He reddened slightly at her giggles and lay down beside her.
"Aishiteru," he murmured softly, wishing almost impatiently that he could run his fingers through her hair as he said it. Or embrace her closely. . .
He smiled at her bittersweetly. Was this how it was always going to be? Is this how it's always been. . . the generations before him living under the touch of the juunishi. . .destined always to live with the heartache of holding their loved ones at arms length; to be so close and yet worlds apart. Was this what it meant to be. . .
***
Cursed.
His clothing scattered on the floor, his damp fur sat matted against him in a frozen moment of silence. Merely the steady patter of rain interrupted the late night stillness of the slumbering street.
A girl was outstretched on the wet ground, knocked down by the impact of their colliding bodies. Kyou looked at her grumpily, glimpsing pale skin under the strands of straight blonde hair draped over her face. He would have scampered off before she stirred had he not been trapped under her.
He scowled at her unnoticed before she slowly began to stir. She propped herself up with one hand, freeing the other to grasp her head as she moaned in complaint. She looked around, confused for a moment, perplexed over how she ended up on the ground, before her eyes widened, startled, no doubt, by being scowled at by an orange cat.
"Oi, Yankee," he glared. "Get off my tail."
***
A/N: thank you everyone who reviewed. It's really a motivator. Otherwise I would have forgotten all about my story ^^;
Aki- thanks for all the support. I'll try to get working on my other story too =P San San- hehe, don't worry about the spelling. I got the idea. ^_~ Everyone else- the writer's block is temporarily defeated. I know where to start for the 4th chapter now =)
Kyou's feet pounded against the pavement. The blur of lights and glare of dark window shops sped through the corner of his eye. His body felt sluggish under the steady rain. But the anger fueled him. He had lost. . he had lost. . .the thoughts swirling in his mind.
He recalled, with no small sense of irony, the pride he felt that day. The day he had finally beat Yuki. For years he had tried to best the deceptively frail looking boy, trained months with Shishou when he could, and it wasn't until he had nearly achieved his black belt that he had finally caught him in battle. The memory was always one to bring a smirk to his face, despite Yuki's lack of disappointment, . . his cool admission to defeat. It had taken some of the glory out of winning, but for once the others had looked at Kyou, and recognised something beyond a curse.
But Kyou had failed to notice, failed to see, that while he strove so hard to win the wrong battle, Yuki was slowly winning the one that really mattered.
He never truly saw it coming. One day they were all teenagers living under one roof with Shigure, their verbal banter resounding through the thin walls of a sleepy little house and the next, Kyou was taking home a black belt, and Yuki was taking home the small gold band now slipped firmly over Tohru's slender finger.
He had been away for summer camp when it happened. The rush of excitement over his improvement quickly dashed under the severity of words a black belt was helpless to defend. And now, for all his achievement, he suddenly felt empty.
So empty. The word itself echoing from the hollowness he felt inside.
He struggled to push the blur of thoughts away, stared at the blur of his feet instead, beating fiercely against the slick road in awkward rhythm, unsure of whether it was rain or tears now clouding his vision, nor really caring. Orange hair matted down to his slightly tanned forehead, his clothes dishevelled and clinging to him slightly, as though they too shrunk from the rain while the outside world had faded. Shadowy figures melded into muddy puddles he failed to notice. . . failed to notice again, the lone figure stepping quietly into his path.
****
A thin layer of sweat coated his body. Short quick breaths moaned softly against the heavy patter of rain as his body gravitated towards her body, pulled by that unseen force he could not escape. Their voices cried out in unison as his body slowed with laboured breaths.
But he was falling. His body colliding into hers one last time before
Poof!
His already flushed cheeks burned crimson. A combination of panic, frustration, . . utter mortification burned through him and for a moment he refused to look at her, lowering, instead, his purple orbs to the floor.
Without a word, Tohru picked him up and gently placed him on her belly, running a finger over his soft fur and giggling softly.
"Yuki," she paused and blushed, contemplating, as though she were using it for the first time, the intimacy of the word.
Yuki looked up in surprise at her bemused smile, the contemplative expression lit up by the utter radiance with which she now glowed in the dappled moonlight.
"Aishiteru." She looked at him.
A jolt ran through him. Mingled love, gratitude and heart ache ate at his heart as he clambered off her belly. He reddened slightly at her giggles and lay down beside her.
"Aishiteru," he murmured softly, wishing almost impatiently that he could run his fingers through her hair as he said it. Or embrace her closely. . .
He smiled at her bittersweetly. Was this how it was always going to be? Is this how it's always been. . . the generations before him living under the touch of the juunishi. . .destined always to live with the heartache of holding their loved ones at arms length; to be so close and yet worlds apart. Was this what it meant to be. . .
***
Cursed.
His clothing scattered on the floor, his damp fur sat matted against him in a frozen moment of silence. Merely the steady patter of rain interrupted the late night stillness of the slumbering street.
A girl was outstretched on the wet ground, knocked down by the impact of their colliding bodies. Kyou looked at her grumpily, glimpsing pale skin under the strands of straight blonde hair draped over her face. He would have scampered off before she stirred had he not been trapped under her.
He scowled at her unnoticed before she slowly began to stir. She propped herself up with one hand, freeing the other to grasp her head as she moaned in complaint. She looked around, confused for a moment, perplexed over how she ended up on the ground, before her eyes widened, startled, no doubt, by being scowled at by an orange cat.
"Oi, Yankee," he glared. "Get off my tail."
***
A/N: thank you everyone who reviewed. It's really a motivator. Otherwise I would have forgotten all about my story ^^;
Aki- thanks for all the support. I'll try to get working on my other story too =P San San- hehe, don't worry about the spelling. I got the idea. ^_~ Everyone else- the writer's block is temporarily defeated. I know where to start for the 4th chapter now =)
