A/N: Okay, everyone, here's part 4. Since Mona was begging!!! :D Thanks for
the reviews- Don't worry, everything ought to be explained. I love your
reviews and your criticisms help me lots! Yup yup, Kyou does remind me of
Inuyasha and Battousai a bit(I'm always on Battousai's side when it comes
to Kaoru, J-chan!)
Does ANYONE know how to use italics here? I've tried but all my italic font gets converted to plain text once it's posted. :(
DISCLAIMER: Fruits Basket belongs to the lovely Takaya-san who hopefully will continue the manga until Kyou and Tohru are together!! :D
********************
Chapter 4
Souma Akito sat smiling thoughtfully on the verandah of his house-- the main Souma house. He squinted at the bright sunshine through the dark bangs that veiled his pale, narrow face. It was the face of a fallen angel. Beautiful as they were, the man and the place both inspired fear in the other Soumas, and it amused the head of the Soumas to know it, to see their pathetic attempts to break away from his control.
They were so weak, so helpless......so lost without him. He pulled his kimono closer as his mind skimmed over the jyuunishii- Yuki, Momiji, Hiro, Kisa, the older members, and finally the OTHER. Not one dared to defy him. They needed him, monsters that they were. He would protect and control each and every one of them.
A sparrow landed on his kimono sleeve where his arm was curled around his knee, and chirped softly.
Control.
It was for this very reason that he had called a gathering for Kyou's sixteenth birthday. Poor, ugly, Kyou, more monstrous than any of the Soumas, never part of the jyuunishii, yet never apart, either. Akito laughed maliciously when he thought of how Kyou fought to join their circle. It had pleased him to dangle a bone before the cursed boy, watch as Kyou grew to hate Yuki, seeing in him everything that the redhead blamed in himself.
Akito laughed out loud at the thought. Startled, the sparrow fluttered its wings and took flight.
"It's just too exquisite," he murmured delightedly. "Kyou, you'll suffer forever. Forever, Kyou! You think Honda Tohru can save you? You're wrong. You're so wrong. You'll learn how it really is. I'll lock you away in a place as dark as your spirit!"
"And your spirit is growing, isn't it?" Akito paused, thinking about the cat demon. For some reason, the cat demon gained in power when its human body hit its sixteenth birthday. Akito had a vague notion that it had something to do with the peak of puberty, but he didn't really care about the overly fine details. Controlling Kyou, breaking the orange-haired boy's proud spirit, was all he cared about just then.
(Even the rosary won't save you on your birthday, Kyou. You think you know the monster inside you? You hope you can defeat it?)
Akito giggled to himself. "Soon, you'll show everyone the monster you truly are and the Soumas will be there to see it. That girl will run from you in disgust like she should have the first time!"
And then of course, there would be no more hope for Kyou.
*********
"He has a birthday?" Uotani smirked. "I thought he was hatched."
"Uo-chan!" Tohru grinned at her friend. "It's on Saturday. Please come."
"Don't worry, Tohru. We'll show up!"
Kyou sat in class, trying to pay attention to the teacher with little luck. He had a headache and it felt like ants were crawling across his skin. He felt immensely restless and squirmed in his seat, trying to scratch his skin without drawing attention. His gaze kept being drawn back to Tohru. Looking at her chatting with Uotani and Saki calmed him a little.
(I could look at her all day.)
The feeling of millions of ant feet on his skin came back, and Kyou straightened.
(What the hell is going on? Dammit, feels like there are bugs crawling over me!) Kyou scratched a bit harder. (Am I sick or something? I can't be sick!)
"Souma! What on earth are you doing?" the teacher thundered.
"I...I don't know." Kyou flushed when the entire class turned to look at him. Maybe it was the t-shirt he wore under his school uniform. Maybe it still had dried detergent on it or something. Tohru was looking worried.
"Are you sick, Kyou-kun?" she asked.
"No, I..."
"Insolence!" The teacher yelled. "I won't have you two disturbing my classroom. Go stand in the hallway, Souma, Honda!"
Happy to leave, Kyou got up and sauntered to the door. As it was he could barely keep from running. He stuck his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't try to scratch himself while all eyes were on him. Behind him, Tohru followed, blushing with distress and embarrassment.
As soon as they were in the hallway, Kyou pulled his hands out and began scratching himself furiously. Tohru stared at him, obviously wondering what was going on. He didn't stop outside the classroom, however. He kept walking.
"Kyou-kun, you ARE sick!" she exclaimed, trotting along behind him, trying to keep up with his longer, faster stride. "Are you going to the nurse's office?"
"No, I'm not sick." He reached under his t-shirt and felt immediately better as his nails scraped his ribs vigorously. "I need to find a place...."
He looked around and headed for the roof. Tohru followed, her expression confused. He took the stairs two at a time. They emerged onto the roof of the school. The day was balmy, and the soft breeze and the height immediately soothed Kyou a little.
************
"Wha.....what are you doing?" Tohru's eyes grew huge as Kyou stripped off his school shirt and then took off the white t-shirt beneath it. She'd seen him naked plenty of times, when he changed back from animal form. But those had only been micro-second glimpses before she fainted or shut her eyes.
Now, Kyou stood bare-chested before her, rubbing his arms fiercely. She had seen him this way the first time he had changed back from his third form, but she had only registered it subconsciously at the time. Most of her attention had been taken up by gratitude that she had gotten Kyou back and the tenderness he had showed her then.
(He had the sweetest smile that day.) Tohru felt something warm pulse within her chest at the memory of Kyou's smile. (He can be so gentle when he wants to be.)
Kyou was looking out over the school grounds as he balled up his clothes and tossed them in a corner. He stretched out his arms in obvious relief, unaware that Tohru was gaping at his back.
(Oh my goodness!) A hot blush crept over Tohru's cheeks. She wanted to tear her eyes away but apparently her peepers had a will of their own. They took in Kyou's broad shoulders and the way his biceps moved as he stretched. The smooth expanse of skin over shoulders, ribs and hard, trim stomach made Tohru's hands itch to skim his torso. (Don't look! Move away, baka) But she was rooted to the spot.
Kyou turned with a grin, his fangs peeking out. "That's better! You don't know, I was going crazy in there. I.....?He stopped, took in her wide eyes, and his grin grew sly. He began to walk towards her. "Like what you see?"
Tohru took a step back, ready to run. He reminded her of a panther, the way his muscles shifted smoothly as he moved. Which, she realized ruefully, shouldn't surprise her.
Kyou kept advancing, and Tohru took another step back, and then another. Her back hit the cement wall of the vent behind her. Tohru wanted to faint, sink through the floor, run off the roof, anything to stop Kyou's relentless advance, wipe that eerie smile from his face.
"Answer me," he demanded.
"Yes!" she replied automatically. "I mean...no! I..." Tohru shook her head, feeling like a deer trapped in headlights. "Wh...what was the question?"
Kyou stopped just when Tohru thought he was going to keep walking right into her. His arms came up to imprison her against the vent, catching her in a cage of his creation.
"Don't worry," he whispered, lowering his head to place his cheek against hers. "You answered it already."
Tohru stared ahead blindly, her heart thudding in her breast, every sense focused on Kyou's breath softly feathering against her shoulder. She had a sudden urge to check her blouse again, even though she knew she was safely armored this time. Her brain felt like it was being wrung like a sponge, and thoughts were being squeezed out and falling away, leaving her mind blank.
She brought up her hands to stop his progress, but the shock of warm skin against the flats of her palms was nearly her undoing. She inhaled deeply, trying to help her oxygen-starved brain, and Kyou's scent filled her nostrils. Tohru felt small and trapped and vulnerable, caught between Kyou's arms, not quite in an embrace.
"Kyou, wait..." she tried, one last time, and when he drew back her disappointment was nearly equally mixed with relief. Then he flashed her a razored grin, and Tohru knew complete helplessness. Sixteen years of innocence overrode any stirrings of desire she had ever experienced, and Tohru panicked. She began to struggle as Kyou's hot mouth captured hers, trying to hold him off with her palms still flat against his gloriously bare chest. His mouth worked over hers even as one of his hands fisted in her hair, crushing the curls and tugging her head back so that the pale, slim column of her throat was exposed to his avid gaze.
"Nuh..!" Tohru tried to rip her mouth from his by whipping her head to the side. Kyou simply caught her jaw with his fingers even as she tried to push him away with all her strength,. His smile was predatory and Tohru could see that his cinnamon eyes burned with a fierce light.
"Please, don't...." Tohru stared up at Kyou with pleading eyes, and as he continued to smile at her, she moved forward, surprising him. If only she could catch him in hug, he would be helpless and she would be free.
But Kyou had backed up in his surprise, and he suddenly realized her intent. He moved his feet, spun her, and before Tohru knew what was happening, he'd slammed her into the vent wall, facing away from him. He pressed one palm up against the small of her back to hold her in place.
"What a smart little onigiri you are!" Kyou laughed with amusement, realizing how she had nearly escaped.
Tohru couldn't believe it. (This is actually worse! I'm even more helpless now.)
"Tohru..." Kyou whispered in his throaty voice, leaning forward to suck on her neck, careful not to touch her anywhere else. "Little onigiri..." Unbidden, a sharp surge of desire flared through her, spreading from the place he was sucking to swell through her body. Unconsciously, she moaned. And felt Kyou smile against the skin of her neck.
***********
Kyou pressed up close against Tohru, wishing he could hold her. He'd lost any sense of right or wrong a while ago. When Tohru had pleaded in her sweet, sweet voice, fluttering against him like a small bird trying to escape, all his predatory instincts had reared up and all he'd wanted to do was bite into her, hard. His conscience had been smothered under a wave of raging hormones so strong that Kyou wanted to pick Tohru up, carry her away to some deserted spot, and feast on her as though he were a cat with its dinner.
So he'd kissed her instead. And the results had been so explosive that for a moment Kyou realized how close he was to losing control. Then Tohru had almost succeeded in escaping, and the beast in Kyou raged again in fury, fighting to lay claim to her.
He pushed aside her hair with one hand and fastened on her neck with teeth, sucking seductively, and his efforts were rewarded when Tohru let out a low moan. He smiled against her neck and let one hand roam down her back, tangling in her hair. His hand moved to her ribs, curled around to her stomach and crept up to weigh one breast softly
in his palm.
Tohru sucked in a sharp breath, arching away from his hand. That only succeeded in pushing her breast further into his palm, and the back of her head pushed against his shoulder. He carefully pushed the rest of her torso away with his palm, aware that he was playing with fire, but unable to care.
"I love how your body is put together," he murmured against the delicate shell of her ear. "You fit so well in my arms."
Something pinged against his bare shoulder. He looked up. Another drop pinged against his back. Kyou looked up, frowning. Drops of rain began to fall and the orange-haired boy's frown turned into a full scowl. Dammit! He hated rain. The drops began to fall faster and more thickly, running down his skin and cooling his heated body. Slowly,
comprehension began to return to the cat's mind.
He turned his head almost unbelievingly to look down at Tohru. She was huddled against the wall now, using him as a barrier against the rain and, Kyou had a feeling, even from himself.
What had he done?
*She's mine.*
He'd attacked Tohru, of all people. Kissed her...mauled her, for goodness' sake.
*It doesn't matter. She's mine anyway*
Kyou stared down at Tohru's bent head, caught between horror and a dark possessiveness that was so deeply buried he was hardly aware of it on a conscious level.
"Tohru," he began gently. "I'm..." He gritted his teeth. "I'm..." Somehow, his lips simply refused to form the word 'sorry'. (What the hell is going on?)
She wouldn't look at him.
"Let me take you home."
************
Tohru allowed Kyou to peel her away from the wall, wondering if he knew how close she'd come to hugging him for real, how for a few moments she had ached to fall into his arms and kiss him back. Now, the after-effects of the experience had taken the wind out of her, and she kept her eyes on the ground as Kyou led her downstairs and out of the school.
**********************
Please review!! :D
Does ANYONE know how to use italics here? I've tried but all my italic font gets converted to plain text once it's posted. :(
DISCLAIMER: Fruits Basket belongs to the lovely Takaya-san who hopefully will continue the manga until Kyou and Tohru are together!! :D
********************
Chapter 4
Souma Akito sat smiling thoughtfully on the verandah of his house-- the main Souma house. He squinted at the bright sunshine through the dark bangs that veiled his pale, narrow face. It was the face of a fallen angel. Beautiful as they were, the man and the place both inspired fear in the other Soumas, and it amused the head of the Soumas to know it, to see their pathetic attempts to break away from his control.
They were so weak, so helpless......so lost without him. He pulled his kimono closer as his mind skimmed over the jyuunishii- Yuki, Momiji, Hiro, Kisa, the older members, and finally the OTHER. Not one dared to defy him. They needed him, monsters that they were. He would protect and control each and every one of them.
A sparrow landed on his kimono sleeve where his arm was curled around his knee, and chirped softly.
Control.
It was for this very reason that he had called a gathering for Kyou's sixteenth birthday. Poor, ugly, Kyou, more monstrous than any of the Soumas, never part of the jyuunishii, yet never apart, either. Akito laughed maliciously when he thought of how Kyou fought to join their circle. It had pleased him to dangle a bone before the cursed boy, watch as Kyou grew to hate Yuki, seeing in him everything that the redhead blamed in himself.
Akito laughed out loud at the thought. Startled, the sparrow fluttered its wings and took flight.
"It's just too exquisite," he murmured delightedly. "Kyou, you'll suffer forever. Forever, Kyou! You think Honda Tohru can save you? You're wrong. You're so wrong. You'll learn how it really is. I'll lock you away in a place as dark as your spirit!"
"And your spirit is growing, isn't it?" Akito paused, thinking about the cat demon. For some reason, the cat demon gained in power when its human body hit its sixteenth birthday. Akito had a vague notion that it had something to do with the peak of puberty, but he didn't really care about the overly fine details. Controlling Kyou, breaking the orange-haired boy's proud spirit, was all he cared about just then.
(Even the rosary won't save you on your birthday, Kyou. You think you know the monster inside you? You hope you can defeat it?)
Akito giggled to himself. "Soon, you'll show everyone the monster you truly are and the Soumas will be there to see it. That girl will run from you in disgust like she should have the first time!"
And then of course, there would be no more hope for Kyou.
*********
"He has a birthday?" Uotani smirked. "I thought he was hatched."
"Uo-chan!" Tohru grinned at her friend. "It's on Saturday. Please come."
"Don't worry, Tohru. We'll show up!"
Kyou sat in class, trying to pay attention to the teacher with little luck. He had a headache and it felt like ants were crawling across his skin. He felt immensely restless and squirmed in his seat, trying to scratch his skin without drawing attention. His gaze kept being drawn back to Tohru. Looking at her chatting with Uotani and Saki calmed him a little.
(I could look at her all day.)
The feeling of millions of ant feet on his skin came back, and Kyou straightened.
(What the hell is going on? Dammit, feels like there are bugs crawling over me!) Kyou scratched a bit harder. (Am I sick or something? I can't be sick!)
"Souma! What on earth are you doing?" the teacher thundered.
"I...I don't know." Kyou flushed when the entire class turned to look at him. Maybe it was the t-shirt he wore under his school uniform. Maybe it still had dried detergent on it or something. Tohru was looking worried.
"Are you sick, Kyou-kun?" she asked.
"No, I..."
"Insolence!" The teacher yelled. "I won't have you two disturbing my classroom. Go stand in the hallway, Souma, Honda!"
Happy to leave, Kyou got up and sauntered to the door. As it was he could barely keep from running. He stuck his hands in his pockets so he wouldn't try to scratch himself while all eyes were on him. Behind him, Tohru followed, blushing with distress and embarrassment.
As soon as they were in the hallway, Kyou pulled his hands out and began scratching himself furiously. Tohru stared at him, obviously wondering what was going on. He didn't stop outside the classroom, however. He kept walking.
"Kyou-kun, you ARE sick!" she exclaimed, trotting along behind him, trying to keep up with his longer, faster stride. "Are you going to the nurse's office?"
"No, I'm not sick." He reached under his t-shirt and felt immediately better as his nails scraped his ribs vigorously. "I need to find a place...."
He looked around and headed for the roof. Tohru followed, her expression confused. He took the stairs two at a time. They emerged onto the roof of the school. The day was balmy, and the soft breeze and the height immediately soothed Kyou a little.
************
"Wha.....what are you doing?" Tohru's eyes grew huge as Kyou stripped off his school shirt and then took off the white t-shirt beneath it. She'd seen him naked plenty of times, when he changed back from animal form. But those had only been micro-second glimpses before she fainted or shut her eyes.
Now, Kyou stood bare-chested before her, rubbing his arms fiercely. She had seen him this way the first time he had changed back from his third form, but she had only registered it subconsciously at the time. Most of her attention had been taken up by gratitude that she had gotten Kyou back and the tenderness he had showed her then.
(He had the sweetest smile that day.) Tohru felt something warm pulse within her chest at the memory of Kyou's smile. (He can be so gentle when he wants to be.)
Kyou was looking out over the school grounds as he balled up his clothes and tossed them in a corner. He stretched out his arms in obvious relief, unaware that Tohru was gaping at his back.
(Oh my goodness!) A hot blush crept over Tohru's cheeks. She wanted to tear her eyes away but apparently her peepers had a will of their own. They took in Kyou's broad shoulders and the way his biceps moved as he stretched. The smooth expanse of skin over shoulders, ribs and hard, trim stomach made Tohru's hands itch to skim his torso. (Don't look! Move away, baka) But she was rooted to the spot.
Kyou turned with a grin, his fangs peeking out. "That's better! You don't know, I was going crazy in there. I.....?He stopped, took in her wide eyes, and his grin grew sly. He began to walk towards her. "Like what you see?"
Tohru took a step back, ready to run. He reminded her of a panther, the way his muscles shifted smoothly as he moved. Which, she realized ruefully, shouldn't surprise her.
Kyou kept advancing, and Tohru took another step back, and then another. Her back hit the cement wall of the vent behind her. Tohru wanted to faint, sink through the floor, run off the roof, anything to stop Kyou's relentless advance, wipe that eerie smile from his face.
"Answer me," he demanded.
"Yes!" she replied automatically. "I mean...no! I..." Tohru shook her head, feeling like a deer trapped in headlights. "Wh...what was the question?"
Kyou stopped just when Tohru thought he was going to keep walking right into her. His arms came up to imprison her against the vent, catching her in a cage of his creation.
"Don't worry," he whispered, lowering his head to place his cheek against hers. "You answered it already."
Tohru stared ahead blindly, her heart thudding in her breast, every sense focused on Kyou's breath softly feathering against her shoulder. She had a sudden urge to check her blouse again, even though she knew she was safely armored this time. Her brain felt like it was being wrung like a sponge, and thoughts were being squeezed out and falling away, leaving her mind blank.
She brought up her hands to stop his progress, but the shock of warm skin against the flats of her palms was nearly her undoing. She inhaled deeply, trying to help her oxygen-starved brain, and Kyou's scent filled her nostrils. Tohru felt small and trapped and vulnerable, caught between Kyou's arms, not quite in an embrace.
"Kyou, wait..." she tried, one last time, and when he drew back her disappointment was nearly equally mixed with relief. Then he flashed her a razored grin, and Tohru knew complete helplessness. Sixteen years of innocence overrode any stirrings of desire she had ever experienced, and Tohru panicked. She began to struggle as Kyou's hot mouth captured hers, trying to hold him off with her palms still flat against his gloriously bare chest. His mouth worked over hers even as one of his hands fisted in her hair, crushing the curls and tugging her head back so that the pale, slim column of her throat was exposed to his avid gaze.
"Nuh..!" Tohru tried to rip her mouth from his by whipping her head to the side. Kyou simply caught her jaw with his fingers even as she tried to push him away with all her strength,. His smile was predatory and Tohru could see that his cinnamon eyes burned with a fierce light.
"Please, don't...." Tohru stared up at Kyou with pleading eyes, and as he continued to smile at her, she moved forward, surprising him. If only she could catch him in hug, he would be helpless and she would be free.
But Kyou had backed up in his surprise, and he suddenly realized her intent. He moved his feet, spun her, and before Tohru knew what was happening, he'd slammed her into the vent wall, facing away from him. He pressed one palm up against the small of her back to hold her in place.
"What a smart little onigiri you are!" Kyou laughed with amusement, realizing how she had nearly escaped.
Tohru couldn't believe it. (This is actually worse! I'm even more helpless now.)
"Tohru..." Kyou whispered in his throaty voice, leaning forward to suck on her neck, careful not to touch her anywhere else. "Little onigiri..." Unbidden, a sharp surge of desire flared through her, spreading from the place he was sucking to swell through her body. Unconsciously, she moaned. And felt Kyou smile against the skin of her neck.
***********
Kyou pressed up close against Tohru, wishing he could hold her. He'd lost any sense of right or wrong a while ago. When Tohru had pleaded in her sweet, sweet voice, fluttering against him like a small bird trying to escape, all his predatory instincts had reared up and all he'd wanted to do was bite into her, hard. His conscience had been smothered under a wave of raging hormones so strong that Kyou wanted to pick Tohru up, carry her away to some deserted spot, and feast on her as though he were a cat with its dinner.
So he'd kissed her instead. And the results had been so explosive that for a moment Kyou realized how close he was to losing control. Then Tohru had almost succeeded in escaping, and the beast in Kyou raged again in fury, fighting to lay claim to her.
He pushed aside her hair with one hand and fastened on her neck with teeth, sucking seductively, and his efforts were rewarded when Tohru let out a low moan. He smiled against her neck and let one hand roam down her back, tangling in her hair. His hand moved to her ribs, curled around to her stomach and crept up to weigh one breast softly
in his palm.
Tohru sucked in a sharp breath, arching away from his hand. That only succeeded in pushing her breast further into his palm, and the back of her head pushed against his shoulder. He carefully pushed the rest of her torso away with his palm, aware that he was playing with fire, but unable to care.
"I love how your body is put together," he murmured against the delicate shell of her ear. "You fit so well in my arms."
Something pinged against his bare shoulder. He looked up. Another drop pinged against his back. Kyou looked up, frowning. Drops of rain began to fall and the orange-haired boy's frown turned into a full scowl. Dammit! He hated rain. The drops began to fall faster and more thickly, running down his skin and cooling his heated body. Slowly,
comprehension began to return to the cat's mind.
He turned his head almost unbelievingly to look down at Tohru. She was huddled against the wall now, using him as a barrier against the rain and, Kyou had a feeling, even from himself.
What had he done?
*She's mine.*
He'd attacked Tohru, of all people. Kissed her...mauled her, for goodness' sake.
*It doesn't matter. She's mine anyway*
Kyou stared down at Tohru's bent head, caught between horror and a dark possessiveness that was so deeply buried he was hardly aware of it on a conscious level.
"Tohru," he began gently. "I'm..." He gritted his teeth. "I'm..." Somehow, his lips simply refused to form the word 'sorry'. (What the hell is going on?)
She wouldn't look at him.
"Let me take you home."
************
Tohru allowed Kyou to peel her away from the wall, wondering if he knew how close she'd come to hugging him for real, how for a few moments she had ached to fall into his arms and kiss him back. Now, the after-effects of the experience had taken the wind out of her, and she kept her eyes on the ground as Kyou led her downstairs and out of the school.
**********************
Please review!! :D