Disclaimer: Fruits Basket and all the characters belong to the guy who made it up. I don't own anything, I don't have any right to anything.
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Used By A Black Haru
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Minoru looked at Tohru with concern. "Are you feeling alright? You're not sick are you? If you are, you don't have to stay…"
Tohru mentally chided herself for being so stupid. Why did she keep drifting off and thinking about Yuki all the time? She was on a date after all. "Oh, no I'm fine. Uh… what were we talking about again?"
He looked at her oddly. "You really aren't alright. If there's anything on your mind, just tell me, ok? I'd be happy to hear you out."
"No, I really am fine. Just forget about it. And… yes, what were we talking about?"
"I was asking you about your family. Do you have any siblings, what're your parents like, who do you live with? Sorry if I seem like I'm prying, but I'm just interested, that's all."
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Yuki and Kyo sat at a nearby table, hidden from Tohru's view. The date seemed to be going relatively normally so far, first the movie, then lunch at a café, and they seemed to be talking about normal things, nothing peculiar so far. Yuki had sent out rats to hear better what they were talking about, and relayed the information to Kyo. "Damn, now she's probably going to tell Minoru that she lives with us, and the news is going to be out all over the school by Tuesday," Kyo muttered.
"No, I have faith in Miss Honda. Let's just listen before jumping to conclusions, ok?" Yuki reassured him.
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Tohru carefully thought her answer over before saying it. "No, I don't have any siblings. My father died when I was very young, and my mother was killed a bit over a year ago in a car crash. So I moved in with my grandfather, but he had to renovate the house so my aunt's family could move in, so I went to live with two of my friends. I'm still living with them now."
She could practically see Minoru's ears perk up when she mentioned she was living with her friends. "Which friends are these? Do I know them?"
She laughed. "No, they go to a different school."
Minoru sighed. "Oh well. Say, can I come over to your house one day?"
Without thinking, she immediately replied, "Sure! I'm sure they'd love to have you over, and meet you!"
Suddenly realizing what she had just said, she froze, as Minoru chattered away. His voice faded into the background as her mind worked furiously. How could she get Minoru to change his mind about coming over without seeming rude? She could just imagine Yuki and Kyo's reaction when they hear the news. Especially Yuki…Her mind went back to that kiss in the morning. His lips on hers… it had been such a wonderful feeling.
Damn! There she went again, thinking about Yuki.
"… my sister is so annoying, she just talks and talks all the time, and I hate her boyfriend, a couple of times I've caught them making out on the couch, I swear, it's not a pleasant sight…" She became aware of Minoru, still talking about his extended family. She needed to get away from him, have a chance to get her head working properly again. "Excuse me, I just realized I need to be going home now. There's some work I needed to get done," she said politely.
Yuki and Kyo sighed with relief. The situation had started to get awkward, with the topic of families. At least now she'd be safe. Quickly, they followed her as she bid farewell to Minoru, and set off back in the direction of home.
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Something moved in the bushes next to Tohru, but she kept walking, determined not to get anxious. "It's probably just a small animal, like the ones that normally live in a forest…" she whispered to herself.
Suddenly, someone ran out onto the path in front of her, and she found herself caught in a strong embrace. Gasping, she looked up into the grinning face of Hatsuharu Soma. "Why aren't you turning into an ox, if you're hugging me?" she stammered.
"Ayame's a wonderful inventor, and he's getting me to test his latest product - a potion which prevents curses from taking effect for a few hours. It may not work properly yet, obviously, that's why I'm testing it. So I thought I may as well make some good use of the time, and do something… interesting," Haru explained.
"Uh, what interesting thing are you… planning to do?" said Tohru, blushing deeply
"Why, take advantage of you, of course. How about it, babe? You, me, and the back seat of a car. It'll be a wild ride, I guarantee."
He kissed her roughly, and started dragging her into the woods with him. "Seems to be working fine, huh? But I'll be putting it to the ultimate test once we get back to that car I stole especially for this occasion."
"OH NO, YOU WON'T!" Yuki's voice rang through the air, and Haru promptly dropped her. "Yuki? Where are you? Haha, you'll be better than Tohru. Come on out now… Yuki, my love," he shouted.
All of a sudden, a fist flew through the air, hitting him on the jaw and knocking him to the ground. Yuki stepped calmly from behind a tree and helped Tohru to get up. "Sorry for the fright, Miss Honda. I think I'll have to tell Ayame that his curse-blocking potion has some serious side effects. Haru is acting very drunk, more reckless than he usually is as Black Haru. I shudder to think of what he'd have done to you if I hadn't been passing by just now," he said.
"Yuki, thankyou so much for helping me, but…will Haru be alright?" Tohru asked, worried.
"He's indestructible, don't concern yourself with him. He'll just wake up with a splitting headache, and not remember a single thing that happened just now. Make sure you don't mention it to him either, he'd probably be very embarrassed. He does have feelings for you, after all, and you don't want to turn him off by letting him know that he actually went and did something, because as his normal self, he's quite respectful, and he considers it impolite to interrupt when someone else is trying to claim you for himself."
"Oh…Who?" Tohru asked, unaware of all the hints that Yuki was dropping.
He sighed. How slow could she get? "Me, Miss Honda. I like you. A lot. I would have asked you out sooner, if it wasn't for this stupid curse," he mumbled.
Of course, Tohru was too busy being worried about Haru to hear him. "Are you sure he'll be fine? Maybe we should take him back with us," she suggested.
"No, I'm quite sure he'll manage on his own," Yuki said firmly. "Plus, I don't want him to rape me during the night," he added under his breath.
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Ooh, sexy Haru… Ok, I'll stop fantasizing about him now. And start writing the next chapter. Got to get as much written before I go away on holidays. I might not have access to a computer for 2 whole weeks!
- Elenril