Disclaimer-Fruits Basket does not belong to me.
Kyou snorted once he and the one that had escorted him out of the saloon faced each other in the dim lights of the city.
"I should have recognized your voice, but it's been at least ten years since I've had the misfortune of knowing you, Yuki." Kyou said.
"I meant what I said about you having a lot of nerve. Imagine stepping foot in the town where you committed the most heinous act of your criminal career." Yuki said.
"Well, you can trust me when I tell you that it wasn't intentional. I don't believe it was a coincedence though that I just happened to bump into you here as well." Kyou said.
Yuki smiled. "Well for your information, I have paid my deby to society and am now on the right side of the law. You see, this is pretty much my town now, and the locals and I look down on anyone who dares to go near our Tohru." he told him.
Kyou's eyes widened. "You mean that young barmaid? What's she have to do with this?" he asked.
Yuki frowned. "That young barmaid is engaged to another, and you can trust me when I say I'm not the only man in this town that will protect her virtue from drifters like you." Yuki said.
"For your information, I do not plan to be a common drifter. I have come here to seek legitimate employment." Kyou said.
"Is that so? And what makes you think I won't arrest you?" he asked him.
Yuki's eyes widened as Kyou lunged towards him and grabbed his shirt collar in his hands. "Becuase I'm older than you are, that I've always been stronger, and that I could snap your neck without a second thought." he threatened.
Yuki snorted as he slapped his hands away. "Let go of me, you heathen. I'm not frightened of you. As a matter of fact, I have a proposition for you." he told him.
"Is that so?" Kyou asked.
"Well, I just happen to know that our former partner, my cousin Hatsuharu, is headed towards this town in search of vengence against you. The people of this town have seen enough troubles to last them a lifetime. If you can manage to find yourself a legitimate job and stay low profile until he passes through, I'll allow you to leave afterwards without any trouble from me." he told him.
Kyou folded his arms in front of him.
"I suppose this means that I stay away from this barmaid Tohru as well." he said.
"That would be advisable, considering that I'm not the only one in that matter that you would have to contend with." Yuki said.
Kyou smiled. "I'll consider your offer overnight. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again soon, Yuki." he told him, walking away.
Yuki sighed as he walked away, relieved that his hours of duty were over for the day. I wouldn't have such a hard job protecting Tohru if her so-called fiancee would do his part to watch over the innocent teen. Guilt was a relentless mistress, he sighed, wishing more than ever that he could have stopped his cousin from pulling the trigger that day...
"Excuseme, doctor, but your fiancee is here to see you." Hatori's assistant informed him.
Hatori looked up from his paperwork on his desk, smiling as he shut his folders. "Oh yes. Please show her in." he told her.
"Good afternoon, Hatori. I hope I haven't disturbed your work." Tohru said.
The tall doctor stood to embrace his young fiancee, parting from her with a smile. "Of course not! It's always a pleasure to see you. You know you are always welcome. You look as lovely as always and I see you took the time to change out of that barmaid dress Ayame insists that you wear." he told her.
"I will be well rid of it once you and I are married, Hatori. I didn't visit to disturb you. I just came by to say hello, since I don't see you very often." she said.
Hatori smiled as he sat down and lifted her onto his lap. "Yes, and I plan to remedy that as soon as possible. I am building a very good name for myself, for us here and I want to be able to provide for you properly." he said.
Tohru smiled. She knew it would do her no good to argue with him. Even as noble as his intentions were, there was a big part of her that wanted to contribute to their household as well, for her job as a barmaid not to be frowned upon by the man she loved.
It was the one and only issue that they stood on different sides of, but a very important one. she'd made a mistake the night before by neglecting to serve the newcomer in town quickly enough, but when she had seen him again this morning, he had shrugged it off as if it were nothing and had paid her the tip he had promised.
His name was Kyou, she remembered...and she had felt that jolt again when their hands had touched, and she was pretty sure he had felt it too. She had never felt anything like it before, the sudden heat that rose in her for some reason whenever he was near. She knew she had never felt that with Hatori, not even now as she slipped her small hand into his much larger one.
She was truly as innocent about such matters as everyone thought she was, but she couldn't deny that there was something between the two of them. What made that even moe confusing was the news Ayame had told her before she had left for the day.
"Is something wrong, sweetheart? Yuo seem preoccupied." Hatori said.
"I was just thinking about the new bouncer that Ayame hired this afternoon. His name is Kyou. He seems like a nice man, but he just came into town in search of a job and has the most awful limp. I hope he'll be able to do the job alright." she said.
Hatori nodded. "Yes. Ayame does seem to have a soft spot for drifters. That's the reason I dislike you working at that bar. I'm just grateful that you haven't given in becoming one of his dancing girls." he told her.
Tohru blushed. "There's no way I could do something like that. I'm nowhere as pretty as his lead dancer Rin is." she said.
Hatori thought about that for a moment.
"Oh yes, I think I remember her. The young woman with the black hair that tends to flaunt her body. She really should act more ladylike." he said.
Tohru nodded in agreement. "Well, I hate to leave so soon, but I'm supposed to meet Momiji for dinner. You are coming to pick me up after work?" she asked.
Hatori shuddered from the thought.
"Yes, if you insist on me doing so." he said.
Standing up and brushing the wrinkles from her dress, she allowed Hatori to give her a chaste kiss goodbye before she left. Even that didn't feel like it had when Kyou had brushed his lips across her cheek, an unexpected act that had made her heart race then and even now...
"Tohru, do you need to talk? You've been really out of it lately." Momiji told her.
Tohru frowned as she looked down at the delicious salad she had just been picking on for the last few minutes, a nice meal that her best friend had treated her to.
The wealthy son of a local rancher, Momiji had nearly been inseperable from her since they were children and always seemed to know her best. If it wasn't for her engagement to Hatori, she definitely would have given him a second look. He was tall, handsome ans had the most gorgeous shoulder length wavy blonde hair. She very rarely saw him without a smile and he never let her say no to taking her out whenever he wished. He had always told her that even though they were just friends, she meant the world to him and it made him happy to see her happy.
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking about that new bouncer that Ayame hired, the one named Kyou. It's weird, but I swear that I've met him before, like he's someone from my past." she said.
"I heard him talking to our sherriff Yuki. I think they may have known each other at one time. You know I hate to mention this, but wasn't Yuki in prision for a few years for being an associate of the Crimson Haired Bandit?" he asked.
Tohru shuddered, thinking of this. Even ten years after that fateful day, she stil had nightmares every once in awhile about losing her parents that day.
She had blocked out a lot of what happened to preserve her own sanity, but she could remember that there were three men involved that day, mere teenagers. She supposed one of them could have been Yuki, but her most vivid memory of two taller boys wrestling for another's brandished weapon.
She didn't see which of them had pulled the trigger, but when the smoke had cleared, the one that called the Bandit himself had been holding the gun.
Seeing his lady love at the verge of tears, Momiji took her into his arms to comfort her.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I should n't have mentioned it at all. Please forgive me." he told her.
"Thank you, Momiji. It helped to talk about it really." she reassured him.
"Maybe it would help to talk to this Kyou person. I mean, you're going to be working together, right? I'm sure Ayame wouldn't want any conflicts between you and this newcomer." he said.
Tohru smiled as she wiped her tears away. "Yes. You're right as always. Thank you, Momiji." she said.
He smiled as she returned his embrace.
"Anything for you, Tohru." he told her.