Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, and I take no credit for any of these characters.
Yuki was all too glad to get off the ride. It was bad enough being stuck in a seat next to Kyo, but that had to be the most annoying ride ever. Fake screams, water being sprayed from the cieling, and the most sorry compilation of ghosts and rubber masks ever assembled. At least Tohru wasn't woozy after this ride.
Kagura leapt out of her seat and attached herself to Kyo's arm. "We should play games now!" She exclaimed, pointing down the midway. Lights blinked hypnotically and barkers beckoned people to test their skill.
Kyo's eyes narrowed and his heart beat harder. His hands curled into fists and he spun to face Yuki. "I challenge you!" He yelled, people stopping to stare. Yuki just sighed. "This will decide who's really more capable. I challenge you on the midway games."
"Which ones?" Yuki asked. There must have been at least a dozen different games, and most of them were pretty expensive.
"Hmph. You can decide how you'd like to be beaten." Kyo started down the row, a look of determination on his face, Yuki by his side.
Tohru started after the boys, but felt a tug on her arm. "Maybe we shouldn't follow them." Kagura said, quietly. "When they're like this, it'll be hard for them to lose in front of us." Her brown eyes looked slightly saddened, but her small smile was reassuring.
Tohru nodded. I guess that makes sense. "Would you like to get something to eat? They have some ice cream..."
Kyo lifted the mallet into the air and brought it down. Hard. The meter shot straight up and tapped the bell, a loud 'Ding!' ringing out. The barker applauded and gave him his pick of prizes. He rolled his eyes and just pointed to the biggest one on the wall.
Yuki didn't want to leave Tohru and Kagura by themselves, but he couldn't very well decline a challenge. That would give Kyo rights to trash him all night. He heaved the mallet up over his head and slammed it as hard as he could. Once again, the bell rang. A surprised look on the barkers face, as Yuki picked out a large, yellow bunny rabbit.
"Fine, what's next?" Kyo asked, trying to find a nonchalant way to carry his stuffed bear and still look threatening.
"This is stupid," Yuki said, with an air of annoyance.
Kyo whirled around. "You're just scared that I might beat you!"
"I think that's what they call 'wishful-thinking'." Yuki said, carefully enunciating the English words. Kyo just growled, his hair pricking up. Might as well get this over with. Yuki shrugged, grabbed the bunny by the ears and hoisted it over his shoulders.
"Tohru-chaaan!" A voice called out. Tohru looked around the sea of people. It had gotten crowded since they arrived. Her eyes scanned the faces, none of them very familiar. An arm grabbed her shirt and she spun around to face a handsome young man.
"Momiji!" She squeaked happily! "Wow, I'm so happy to see you here." She said, taking his hand. Momiji had hit a growth spurt since she first met him, because now he was actually taller than her! He was as handsome as any of the Soma's, and had become very popular among the ladies.
"Did Kyo and Yuki leave you two here by yourselves? That's too dangerous." He said, scooping up Kagura's hand with his free one. The trio walked together, trying to push their way through the thick crowds. Unfortunately, someone pushed back.
Kagura's hand snapped out instinctively, grabbing the back of Momiji's shirt. Sadly, it was too late. A popping noise caught everyone's attention and the people turned to face them. Tohru stood, frozen, with a quivering bunny in her arms. Kagura's face had gone pale, her hand grasped Momiji's clothes. There's no way Hatori could erase all of these people's memories! Tohru's mind screamed. She laughed nervously, not sure what else to do.
"Wow! They're doing magic!" A little boy called. People began applauding, some even throwing coins. Both Tohru and Kagura nearly fainted.
"Can you change him back?" Someone called. The crowd began cheering.
"This may be our only chance," Kagura hissed, just loud enough for Tohru and Momiji to hear over the clapping. Tohru set the bunny on the ground and began to wave her hands around. Kagura chanted some incoherent words and held up Momiji's shirt, so that whenever he changed back, the audience wouldn't see him in all his naked glory. The girls continued to chant and wave and put on a show... but the little yellow bunny still sat on the ground.
Yuki and Kyo shoved their way to the front of the crowd just in time to hear an all too familiar 'poof!' and see a barely covered Momiji in front of them. Once more the crowd applauded and laughed and threw more coins at the trio. A few girls even stood on their tip-toes to try to catch a glimpse of the handsome man. Kyo and Yuki sighed with relief. Momiji tugged his pants on, Kagura still holding the shirt up to cover him. Tohru just laughed and rubbed the back of her head, a dumb smile plastered on her face.
As the crowd dissipated, Kyo and Yuki finally approached them. "Geeze!" Kyo yelled. "We can't leave you alone for one minute!" He grabbed Momiji by the arm and pulled him away from Tohru. "You know you could've gotten in serious trouble just now!"
Tohru grabbed his hand. "Please, it wasn't his fault." She quietly insisted. "Someone pushed him."
"That doesn't change anything!" Kyo argued, releasing his grip. "I hope that, for your sake, no one we know saw that little performance." He smacked Momiji on the head, sending the lad into tears.
"Whaaa!" He wailed, pitifully. "Kyo hit me!" Tohru put a hand on his shoulder and wiped his mock-tears. However mature he may have looked, he still acted 12 years old.
"Well, at least everything is alright now." Yuki said, glad that the girls had enough sense about them to keep things under control. He cleared his throat. "Honda-san." He said, holding out the giant bunny. "Here, this is for you." He smiled as her face lit up.
"Oh, Yuki-kun! Thank you!" She hugged the bunny tight. Once again, Ayame's words from the prevoius day came to mind 'Don't be afraid to spend money on her. Some may call it spoiling... some have called it bribing... but any woman knows that a man willing to spend money on her is a man worth having-' Yuki shook the rest out of his mind. One can only take so much of Ayame's insanity.
Kyo lifted up the pink bear. "Here, you can have this." He said, handing it to Kagura.
Her eyes shined with happy tears. "You do love me! I always knew it!" She threw her arms around Kyo and squeezed him until several cracks came from his back and shoulder. He slumped over, catching his breath, as Kagura took a moment to admire her newest gift. The girls giggled happily, hugging their large, stuffed animals. Momiji walked beside them, amazed at how much Tohru's bunny looked just like him.
"I'll beat you next time." Kyo snarled at Yuki under his breath.
"Hn." Was Yuki's only response.
The group sat, enjoying the noodle cups that Tohru bought for them.It was getting late in the day and the sun had already started setting. Momiji slurped the last of his noodles and licked his lips. "Ahhh, delicious!" He smiled. He looked down at his watch and gasped. "I have to go! I was here with some friends and they must be wondering where I am by now. Thanks for dinner, Tohru-chan. Bye!" He waved as he took off in search of his friends.
"It is getting late," Tohru said. "Perhaps we should make the ferris wheel the last ride tonight." She stifled a yawn and wondered briefly how Shigure was doing without her there to fix his meals and clean his messes, but quickly remembered that he was, in fact, a capable grown man.
Yuki nodded an looked around for a garbage can.
"Come on, Kyo! We can share a seat," Kagura smiled, lifting Kyo to his feet.
"Who said I even wanted to go on a stupid Ferris Wheel?" He asked trying to free himself of her grasp.
Kagura looked heart-broken... but only for a moment. In a flash, Kyo was on the ground with Kagura's knee in his back. "So now you're going to play hot and cold with me, huh?" She yelled, ignoring the looks from the other fair patrons. "How could you be so careless with a young-woman's heart?" She pulled Kyo's arms back behind him and pushed down harder.
Tohru stared, wide eyed, uncertain if she should try to help. "Honda-san? They'll be ok, let's go before it gets too late." Yuki took her hand and walked with her. She stayed close to him, enjoying his warmth. It had been such a wonderful evening. She'd taken pictures and ridden the rides and she'd even recieved a gift from Yuki.
The pair stepped up into a basket and the doors closed behind them. It was dark now and the stars were all out. As their cart creeped slowly into the air, Tohru looked down and was relieved to see that Kyo and Kagura had made it as well. "Yuki-kun," Tohru began. "Thank you for coming with us. I don't think it would have been the same without you." She said, smiling sweetly at him.
Yuki tried to fight the blush that was coming over his face. 'Call her by her first name,' Yuki remembered suddenly. 'It adds to the sincerity of the moment.' Yuki turned to face Tohru, and found himself lost in her eyes. She looked so happy, so content. He only hoped that she would feel the same way by the end of the night. "Tohru-kun." He said softly. He had used her last name since the day they met... Tohru's eyes widened. Yuki slipped one hand into his coat pocket and retrieved the box. "I want you to have this." He said, placing the small box in her hands.
"Yuki..." She whispered his name and admired the little gift. It was small, but it held such huge meaning. She gently tugged at the bow and pulled the ribbon off. Yuki watched without blinking, his heart had stopped and his brain had gone completely blank. She pulled back the lid of the box and gasped.
"Do you... Do you like it...Tohru-kun?" He asked, his brows knit together with a look of anticipation. He hadn't been so nervous since Tohru asked to speak with Akito a couple years ago. At least this time, he wasn't in fear of her well-being, only his emotional sanity. He held his breath for what seemed like an eternity.
I had to stop it there, please don't hate me. I actually typed much more than this for chapter 4, but I couldn't very well let the story end so quickly. The next chapter will probably be the last. Again, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed my story. It's such a lovely feeling, logging in and finding myself blushing at the kind words people have for my work. I know this chapter seems kind of superfluous, but I really wanted people to care about the ending. Let me know what you think. I should have the next chapter up in a day or so. Thanks for reading! Please R&R