A/N: This fanfic is dedicated to my favorite Furuba author, Ate Syao, and my favorite ate in the #waa channel, Yukitsu. They introduced me to this wonderful new fandom and I admit I had fun at this fanfic, with my favorite pair aside from Yukiru. Thank you very much!
Disclaimer: Aya-chan doesn't own Fruits Basket.
And I Love You
By: Dark-Hooded Eriol the Magician
"I'm so sorry to be a bother to you," Sohma Rika said as she handed her baby gently to the girl in front of her. "I wouldn't know what to do without you."
"It's lucky that Hiro-kun remembered me. Don't worry; I'll take care of her." Honda Tohru said cheerfully. She was going to baby-sit the two for the day; she adored children.
"You'd better," Sohma Hiro grumbled as he stood beside her.
"Thanks again, Honda-san." The woman smiled and bent down to kiss her baby's cheek and Hiro's forehead. "Now be a good brother and help Honda-san, ok?"
The sheep nodded and watched his mother get in the car with his father. He watched them drive away while Tohru waved cheerfully.
"Let's go in," the onigiri suggested. She herded him in and closed the front door. It was her first time to go to Hiro's house and she quite liked the homey atmosphere it radiated.
She was glad that Hiro's mother still took care of her son although he was with the Juunishi twelve.
Tohru looked down on the angelic face in her arms. Sohma Hotaru bore a striking resemblance to her elder brother because of her soft blonde hair and fair skin and even to the shape of their faces. But Hotaru had green eyes unlike her brother's brown ones.
"What do you want for lunch, Hiro-kun?" the riceball asked gently as she followed him to Hotaru's bedroom. The twelve-year-old boy shrugged and opened the door; he stood and watched Tohru lay Hotaru down on her crib tenderly.
Hotaru was eleven years younger than he was. She was the sunshine of his life along with his favorite cousin. Her coming wasn't too late and Hiro wanted to protect her as no one had protected him. He also wanted her to grow without any prejudices against him or anyone in the Juunishi twelve.
"Nee, onigiri," Hiro spoke after a few minutes. "Can Kisa come over?"
Tohru turned to him with a smile. Hiro looked away to hide a little blush. He nearly forgot that Tohru knew about his secret affection for his cousin.
She approved of it and Hiro immediately went to the telephone in his parent's room. Tohru grinned to herself and busied herself with cleaning Hotaru's nursery. She was also planning on conducting a full-house clean-up to please Hiro's parents.
"I'm going to fetch Kisa." Hiro said as he poked his head into the room to see Tohru's arms filled with stuffed toys.
"Be careful," was the cheerful reply.
Hiro walked down the street with his hands on his pockets. His favorite cousin lived in the main Sohma compound with her mother while he lived with his parents a block away. He knew that road well because he always treads upon it to fetch Kisa every morning on the way to school.
Having the onigiri over his house wasn't really on his schedule, originally. He realized that his parents were going out and he wasn't so they had every freedom to leave five-month-old Hotaru with him. It wasn't hard to take care of a baby but what scared him the most was what would happen if he suddenly transformed into a sheep?
So his mother reminded him of the maid in his cousin Yuki's house. And that was how Honda Tohru became his "baby-sitter".
He didn't mind the riceball any more and he thought that she be perfect to help him. She knew about the Juunishi curse and was very motherly to almost anyone. Hotaru liked her immediately although today was the first time she met her.
Hiro stopped walking and opened the gate. He entered the yard as if it was his and knocked on the door thrice. The door opened and Sohma Kisa stepped out with a special smile for him, something she rarely did for other people.
"Ohayo Hiro-chan," Kisa greeted softly. That honorific was allowed to be used by Kisa alone.
"Ohayo Kisa," greeted back the sheep. He was younger than her by a year but with the way they sometimes acted he can't help but feel like he was her big brother. "Let's go?"
They began to walk together in the warm morning sunshine. Hiro noticed that the sun seemed to love Kisa because of the way its rays bounced on her light orange hair and gave her cheeks a rosy color. She had soft hazel eyes that changed color to suit whatever mood she was in; today they were in a bright greenish shade that showed her delight in going to spend the day with him.
"How's Hotaru-chan?" Kisa asked softly. Even though she was the tigress of the Juunishi, she had a timid voice, a shy manner, and a very peaceful expression that was seldom disturbed. She was an introvert and doesn't talk much, even in front of the vast family of the Sohmas!
"She's okay. She knows who I am already," the sheep replied with brotherly pride coloring his voice. The tigress shared his enthusiasm for his sister and had decided to become Hotaru's onee-san. "I still can't hold her properly though..."
"I wish I have a sister," Kisa said very softly, as if speaking to herself but Hiro heard it. The tigress was an only child and his best friend and confidante as long as he could remember. He'd been her big brother and protector too.
Hotaru will be your sister soon... Hiro longed to say that. Thankfully he was saved because they've arrived at his house already. The wonderful aroma of food welcomed them and they both knew that the domestic angel of the Sohmas were at work.
"Hi Kisa-chan!" Tohru greeted cheerfully as she turned to them while wiping her hands with the dish towel. "I hope you don't mind, Hiro-kun that I fixed us some lunch."
"No, I don't," the sheep replied civilly.
"You look so cute, Kisa-chan!" Tohru gushed as she smoothed the tigress's hair. The latter was wearing a white dress that fitted her perfectly and pretty blue bows held her hair. "Don't you think so, Hiro-kun?"
The twelve-year-old looked away, blushing slightly. Kisa is beautiful! "Y-Yes."
Kisa blushed charmingly. "A-Arigatou..."
Tohru clapped her hands and led her to the table. "After lunch, I was hoping to ask you guys to help me clean. Then we can go out to the park the sooner we finish all these chores."
"Sounds fun," Hiro said sarcastically.
"Not that way Hiro-kun! The dust will burst..." Tohru's words were cut off and the disposal bag exploded. They were all covered with dust bunnies and the living room was messy again. "I guess that was too late."
"Yup," Hiro agreed then sneezed. He wasn't exactly in favor of doing house chores until Kisa prevailed upon him. They were cleaning out the living room but now it seemed that it was messier than when they had started.
Suddenly the room was filled with delighted laughter.
They turned around to see Kisa laughing hard but covered with dirt and dust. Her immaculate white dress was now patched with dirt just like her hair and face but she was laughing.
Hiro and Tohru looked at each other. They've never seen Kisa laugh this hard before but they knew it was a sight to behold. Hiro stared at her with his mouth twitching but then the onigiri also joined in with Kisa's laughter.
The sheep realized that they were laughing at him. He looked at himself and grinned. Among the three, he was the dirtiest, dustiest, and definitely the one who deserved the anger of the vacuum cleaner. He gamely joined in their laughter, not feeling in the least embarrassed.
Finally Kisa calmed down and she sat weakly at the couch. Her eyes were bright with fun as if she'd never had that much fun in years. Tohru sat down beside her after dusting her clothes and wiping her face with a towel.
"This is your first time to use that isn't it?" the riceball said to Hiro. The sheep reddened.
"What if it was?" he retorted heatedly.
"Nothing..." Tohru said and she grinned at him. "Kisa-chan, why don't you go to the washroom and clean yourself... Hiro-kun and I will fix everything here."
"Hai onee-san," the tigress nodded and she got up. Hiro watched her go and decided that covered in dirt or not, Kisa was still beautiful.
He didn't realize that Tohru was standing beside him already with a small smile. She took the vacuum from his hands gently.
"I think you would do well to learn some chores Hiro-kun," she started "so that you may be saved from the fate similar to other Sohma males."
"Who are perpetually at war with housekeeping," the brown-haired boy grinned at her. Tohru smiled back; she knew that Hiro as just using his sarcasm and toughness to hide a tender little boy.
"That's right. I think Kisa-chan will adore a husband who knows how to help her." The riceball felt that she had gone too far but the sheep blushed and looked at her as if he wanted to believe her.
The doorbell rang. Tohru went to answer it and left Hiro to sweep the floor clean.
"Konnichiwa, Honda-san," Sohma Yuki said smilingly. Her eyes widened in surprise to see the Prince Yuki at Hiro's doorstep.
"Y-Yuki-kun, please come in..." Tohru smiled and she stepped aside to let him in. "It's a nice pleasure to see you here."
"I don't recall inviting you." Hiro said to his elder cousin. Yuki smirked; the sheep was dressed in casual jeans and a green t-shirt and had even a bandana wrapped on his forehead to keep his blond bangs from his face.
"I didn't know you liked doing chores, little sheep," the Prince teased.
The younger boy didn't blush but held his head high. "So? At least I won't be as domestically challenged like some of you."
Tohru smiled; apparently her words had gotten into him. "Yuki-kun, would you like to come with us later?" she said to try and change the subject.
Before Yuki could reply they heard Kisa's voice calling her amidst the sound of a baby crying. The riceball smiled apologetically and she ran upstairs, followed by Hiro and Yuki.
But the crying had ceased when they arrived. A wonderful sight met their eyes. Kisa had picked up Hotaru and was hugging her close and soothing her.
"There, there, 'Taru-chan, 'Nee-san is here," Kisa whispered soothingly, oblivious to the three people standing in the doorway. It came through Kisa naturally; she knew what to do even though she had never held a baby in her entire life.
Hiro grinned and approached the two girls silently. Since Kisa had her back turned from them, she didn't notice him. The sheep made funny faces to make Hotaru, or 'Taru as Kisa affectionately nicknamed her cousin, and the little girl burst into delighted bubbly laughter.
Curious as to what was making the baby laugh, the tigress turned slowly and saw Hiro's other-worldly face. She laughed too and the sheep stopped, blushing faintly. Her eyes shyly met his.
He wanted to see Kisa like this, always smiling and laughing. Her hazel eyes dancing and her pretty lips in a smile, and her sweet innocent soul loving everyone... that was the Kisa he wanted to preserve in his memory.
Hiro didn't realize that he was staring at the girl he'd loved for as long as he could remember. When he heard Yuki clear his throat, he looked away and bent down to pretend to tie his shoelaces.
"Oh, Kisa-Chan, you're a natural!" Tohru said, overjoyed. The little tigress smiled shyly.
Hiro got up and he sat down on the easy chair his mother had placed there. He watched the two girls play with Hotaru. His dream of marrying Kisa someday weren't impossible. As far as he knew, their match was favorable and there wouldn't be any problems. He loved her with all his heart but rather insecure because he was younger than her.
The sheep lay back lazily. He could imagine them, eight years from now, in a warm, cheerful home with Kisa taking care of their children just like what she was doing with Hotaru now.
Kisa looked at the sheep and noticed that he was smiling. She turned to see Yuki and Tohru going downstairs with Hotaru to get started on the picnic. Apparently they have forgotten about them.
"Nee Hiro-chan..." Kisa said out of the blue "Are you sad about turning into a sheep whenever you hug 'Taru-chan?"
The blond boy looked at her, surprised by her own audacity. Blushing slightly, he nodded.
She smiled at him and then noticed a stuffed sheep with a yellow ribbon on its neck on the dresser. It was a present from her and it was identical to the one she kept by her bedside. It was very huggable and she grinned because she meant it that way. She felt the pain of a brother not being able to hold his only sister when she could hug him.
"I like babies very much... even from before. I'm so glad 'Taru-chan's here because I want to learn how to take care of them. Someday, I want to have babies of my own, a daughter would be nice. Mama said she'd look forward to that day..." Kisa ended with a wishful sigh and there was a rosy blush on her cheeks. She felt comfortable to confide in Hiro because he was her best friend.
Hiro stared at her, quite amazed. The tigress had never told anything of the sort to him and strangely, it was related to his thoughts earlier!
"K-Kisa... I..." Hiro's words were cut off even before he got it out, thanks to Yuki who came in and announced that they were leaving for the picnic. He got up, sighing wearily and followed Kisa out of the room. He'd almost confessed to her!
"Arigatou again, Honda-san, you've been so much help!" Rika said gratefully to Tohru who was smiling at the praise. Hotaru was asleep after their exhausting but fun-filled trip to the park and she was sleeping on her mother's arms. It was already late in the evening and it was time for the baby-sitters to go home.
"Any time, Sohma-san, Hotaru-chan's an angel," said the onigiri with an affectionate smile. "I'd be happy to look after her again when the need arises."
They were standing in the front walk with Rika standing on the doorway with Hiro. Kisa and Yuki were behind Tohru who was still blissfully talking with her employer for the day. The clear sky was filled with stars and the moon shone fully.
"Good night, Sohma-san," Tohru bowed and she waved again to the woman. Yuki smiled to himself and thought that the girl always found her way to the hearts of everyone. Kisa meanwhile stayed by her elder cousin's side, staring at Hiro as if pleading for him to bring her home.
"Okaa-san, I'll just bring Kisa to her house, okay?" Hiro suddenly said and his mother looked thoughtful for a second before agreeing. The sheep put on his shoes and went to Kisa's side. Ever since Hiro could take directions, he'd often walk home his favorite cousin who sometimes came over to play with him.
"Be careful on your way. Hiro, come back immediately, okay?" Hiro nodded to his mother and followed Yuki and Tohru who were leading the way.
The two lived quite far away from the main compound and they had to separate ways. The pairs said their goodbyes and Hiro noticed that Kisa was smiling more than usual.
The two watched them walk the other direction, Yuki holding Tohru's hand. It wasn't such a big secret now. Everyone knew that they were going out with each other and Hiro wasn't surprised that she had managed to melt the Ice Prince's heart.
He sneaked a look at Kisa. The tigress was even prettier in starlight! He didn't realize he had let out a soft sigh. Hiro longed so much to hold Kisa... she was his sister, his best friend, his princess, his love, and the only girl he'd wish to hug without fearing he would turn into his Juunishi form.
"Let's go..." Hiro said and they started to walk. Kisa was quiet, as usual. He laughed uneasily. "Why so quiet?"
"I... because I was thinking of what I want to be when I grow up, you know, anything..." Kisa paused shakily before continuing, "So far, I haven't any idea except that I want to have a husband who genuinely loves me, a house where we will live in, and babies. Many adorable little children that looked like little angels who will fill my life with laughter and I can hug them without turning into a tiger."
"You really like my sister that much, huh?" the sheep said weakly.
"A-Ano... I know you might find it stupid of me, but please... hug me whenever you want. I won't mind." Kisa was blushing very red. "I just thought that it might some of the pain inside of your heart..."
Hiro stared at her, surprised and touched by her efforts. Sweet Kisa, she wanted nothing in her life but be understood and here she was displaying an understanding no one ever did for him.
Silence befell them the rest of the way. Hiro didn't know what to say and Kisa looked embarrassed.
Finally they arrived at Kisa's house. They stood under the streetlamp, with Kisa's head bowed and Hiro feeling desperate to do anything.
"A-Arigatou for today Hiro-chan... I had fun. It was sweet of you to invite me over." the tigress said and she would have ran into her house without a look back had Hiro not hugged her from behind.
Kisa stopped in her tracks when she felt his warm arms wrap around her. Her eyes softened at Hiro's interesting way of showing his gratitude.
"Kisa... Arigatou..." Hiro whispered in her ear and she felt her heart melt. "I know of a guy who would be willing to grant everything you want. He's very near you but he doesn't want to come forward yet. You may not know it but he's also very huggable."
The tigress felt him let her go. She looked up at his brown eyes questioningly before realizing the answers she needed. Her lips formed a small smile. There were no more words needed.
"Goodbye, Hiro-chan!" the sheep watched her run up the walk and inside the front door, leaving him under the lamplight. He smiled a little before waving to that direction.
"Goodbye," he whispered lovingly "And I love you Kisa-chan."
The sheep turned away slowly to make his way home under the light of thousands of stars who's witnessed his love forever and always.
092704
A/N part two: this is my first step in Yukiru fandom. I had put off writing another SasuSaku but heck, I love HiroKisa! I am so sorry if this has pushed the limits of the usual fluff. I had a lot of fun although I didn't know what kind of ending to use at first.
Anyway, I hope you guys drop me a line on your way out.