It's the second chapter! I'm so happy with all of the reviews I received for the first chapter. Thank you so much!!! This chapter contains information from chapters ninety, ninety-one, and ninety-two. It's all the way at the end, so if you don't want to read it, and you would like to wait for volume sixteen to come out, then you don't have to read it! I don't mind! Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review!
Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Fruits Basket, nor do I have any association with Natsuki Takaya, Hakusensha publishers, Hana to Yume Magazine, or TOKYOPOP (I wish I did!).
Chapter Two: New Discoveries
For the rest of the night, Tohru couldn't sleep, for all she thought about was the little boy with bright orange hair. She saw him, and her, playing in the park together. He would be calling her name, pushing her on the swings; they even had lunch together. Kyoko seemed to know him too because she was laughing a smiling with them.
"Come on, Tohru! Let's go on the monkey bars! I'll help if you need me to!"
Tohru brought her knees to her chest. She was very exhausted, yet she just couldn't fall asleep. "Maybe…Maybe he's my long lost brother!" she exclaimed as the sudden thought popped in her head. "Mom had that color hair too, right? Eh, then how come he never lived with us? Does he live with another family member?" Beads of sweat began to run down her face in result of her abrupt panic. "Does that mean I can possibly have more brothers or sisters somewhere?! Oh my…I wonder if he's older or younger. I need to see grandpa right away! I know he'll tell me everything!" With all the possibilities and thoughts on her mind, Tohru didn't even notice she was hanging off the edge of her bed until she fell off with a loud thud.
"Oh!" Tohru peeped. "I hope I didn't wake anyone!" She got up and climbed back into bed, but hesitated. "I should go wash my face. I don't really feel like going to sleep now…" She took out a yellow bathrobe from her closet and walked out of the room, heading for the bathroom. Tohru walked on her tiptoes so she wouldn't make any noise that would disturb Yuki, Kyo, and Shigure while they all slept. In the bathroom, she quietly ran the water, cupping her hands and holding them under the flowing liquid. Once enough water had filled her hands, she splashed it onto her face and sighed. It felt so refreshing, and it woke her up, too.
After drying her face with one of the towels that hung on the wall, Tohru went back to her room. She sat at her desk and hugged herself. "Am I jumping to conclusions? Could he have just been a friend? But how come I never seen him before? I don't remember playing with a little boy who had orange hair! He must be my brother…He resembled mom a lot!" Tohru looked to the window and stared out at the moon. It shone brightly behind the bare naked tree branches in front of the house. "Mom…Is this telling me something?" she spoke to the moon. "Are you trying to tell me that I have a brother? If I find him, will he help me out in remembering my father?" Yawning, Tohru rubbed the back of her head. "My head hurts from thinking so much…I really should go back to sleep. It's probably two o'clock in the morning!"
Tohru turned her head toward the clock that sat on her night table. "Twelve-thirty," she read. "Nya, twelve-thirty?!? You mean I've only been up here for an hour?! That means Shigure-san and Yuki-kun still might be up!" Tohru quickly got up, nearly knocking over her chair, and ran out of the room. She practically ran down the stairs, holding on tightly to her robe so it wouldn't fly open. At the bottom of the stairs, she could here Shigure and Yuki talking.
"No, he is not coming tomorrow!" Yuki said in a stern tone before taking a sip of tea. Shigure whined. "But Yuki-kun! Aaya hasn't been here in such a long time! I'd like to see him!" Yuki shut his eyes in frustration and put down his cup. "If you want to see him so much, go visit him instead of having that idiot come here! It'll save Hatori the trouble of driving him over." Tohru began panting at the end of the staircase, and Yuki and Shigure turned their heads.
"Honda-san?" Yuki said in surprise. He got up and hurried over to her. "Are you okay? Did something happen?" Shigure giggled. "Did Kyo-kun try to sleep in your bed with you?" Balling his fists, Yuki spun around. "Stay out of this!" With the sudden yelling, Tohru began to wheeze. "Eh, Honda-san, why don't you sit down…I'll, uh, get you some tea!" As Yuki brought her to the table, Tohru shook her head and held up her hands. "Oh no, I'm fine Yuki-kun I just wanted to see if you and Shigure-san were still up!" Shigure took a sip of his tea. "Why the rush? You weren't that anxious to see us, were you? I know you would never pass up the chance to have a nice conversation with me, Tohru-kun, but you didn't need to—Ouch!" Shigure looked up to see Yuki holding a frying pan in his hand. "Really, would you just shut up?" Shigure began to rub his head as Tohru shrieked and ran to the freezer for an ice pack. "You know, Yuki-kun, you must learn to control your temper! That goes for Kyo-kun too. If you both keep this up, I'll be in the hospital soon!" Yuki mumbled under his breath, "That wouldn't be a problem," and put back the frying pan. Tohru then scurried back to Shigure with an ice pack folded in a dishtowel. "Here, Shigure-san! Oh, I hope your head doesn't bruise!"
"Don't worry about him," Yuki said. "His head his is so swelled up, I'm sure he probably didn't even feel it." Tohru sat down on the opposite side of Shigure, making sure his head was alright. "You know, that hurt," Shigure stated. "It breaks my heart to know you think of me that way!" As Yuki began to build up his rage, Tohru attempted to calm him down. "Ah, eh, Yuki-kun, Shigure-san…Why don't you two go to bed? It's getting pretty late! But, if you want to stay don't here, that's okay too! I was only suggesting just because we have school tomorrow and I don't want you to get up too late!" Yuki stood up and walked to the stairs. "Good idea." He yawned and the started up the stairs. "Good night. I'll see you both in the morning…Honda-san, you better come up now. It's a full moon out tonight…I don't want Shigure going crazy on you." Tohru immediately got up, and bowed to Shigure. "Yes, um, good night Shigure-san! I hope you sleep well on your mattress! If you want to sleep on a better one, you can always wake me up and—" She felt herself being gently pushed up the stairs by Yuki. "Let's go. Don't give him any ideas." Shigure laughed as the two went upstairs for the night.
As they reached Yuki's bedroom, Tohru bade him good night and started for her own room, but was stopped by Yuki. "Honda-san, I'm beginning to get the feeling that something's wrong. Please, if there is, you can tell me. I'll try to help you anyway I can." Tohru nodded and smiled. "I know! But really, please don't worry about me! I'm fine!" Yuki sighed and rolled his eyes jokingly. "Here we go again!" They both laughed and said good night to each other one again. Tohru headed back to her room, walked in, and quietly shut the door behind her. She took off her robe and wrapped it around the back of her chair while pausing before getting back to bed. "I guess I'll try," she said to herself. Tohru climbed back in the bed, drew the covers over herself, and laid her head on the pillow. She stared at the ceiling, occasionally sighing, until her eyelids began to droop, and the little boy's voice began to fade away.
Then next morning before school was filled with thoughts and 'what-ifs' for Tohru. There were many possibilities of who this boy could be, and what his relation to Tohru and her mother was. He could have been her 'long lost brother', a friend, a relative, or a strange little boy she met just that day. But the one possibility that downed Tohru a bit was that the boy could have been just a dream. She could have just been dreaming that she was playing on the playground with a little boy…But it seemed too realistic that Tohru couldn't think that it wasn't reality. She remembered it so clearly, like it had just happened yesterday. While making breakfast that morning, Tohru pondered all of her thinking.
"I think I'll go to grandpa's house after school today," she said, molding a rice ball in her hands. "I don't think I'll be able to sleep anymore if I don't find out who that boy was! I barely slept last night…I kept tossing and turning. He looked so much like Mom! I felt like I've known him for a while, but I just can't put my foot on it." After molding the first rice ball, Tohru put it on a plate and started to shape a new one. "Maybe Mom is trying to tell me something. After all, I was talking to her last night! She must have heard me!" At the thought of her mother, Tohru smiled and closed her eyes. Images of her mother flowed through her head. How she missed her so much.
Before Tohru knew it, she was finished with the rice balls and was making the tea. She hummed softly as she cleaned the pots and bowls she used to put together breakfast. She began to clean the counter while she waited for the kettle to whistle. Once it did, she poured the water into four cups and repeating what she did the previous morning. Then Tohru heard familiar footsteps coming toward the kitchen. The door slid open, and Kyo walked in, fresh from his early morning shower.
Tohru placed the four cups of tea, the plate of rice balls, and the bowl of miso soup on a serving tray to bring to the table. She picked up the try and turned around, making eye contact with Kyo. Then she froze and dropped the tray, which landed with a large crash. "K-Kyo-kun!" she gasped. Kyo looked at her with wide eyes. "Eh?! Tohru?! What's the matter?" He started to her, but Tohru just stared in shock. "You're…You're the little boy!" Sweat began to run down Kyo's face as he felt an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach develop. "What," he swallowed, "are y-you talking about?" The back of his mind knew, but the front tried to shove that away. She wasn't supposed to know!
"It's you," Tohru whispered as she continued. "You're the little boy I-I played with…We were in the park on the swings, having lunch…You asked me to go on the monkey bars, and you offered to help me. I recognize you now! Your hair…And your eyes!" Kyo began to stammer as Tohru stepped up to him so she could get a good look of his eyes. "I…I still have no clue what you're talking about!" Kyo backed up, nearly tripping over one of the legs on the table. Tohru nodded. She looked as if she was in a trance. "Yes you do! You even knew my mother…Please Kyo-kun. Tell me the truth. Are you that little boy that I'm talking about? Don't you remember, too? It has to be you…You look so much like him! Please!" Her eyes grew from mysterious and wide, to a look of pleading that melted Kyo's heart. But he couldn't tell her. Then she would ask him everything he knew about her mother…
"I-I…I just came down to tell you that I'm not having breakfast!" Kyo said with a trembling voice. He then turned on his heel and fled out of the room, leaving Tohru who was still unconvinced. "Kyo-kun…" she whispered, her voice dry and raspy. She stared at the door for a long amount of time, until Yuki came in and saw her standing there with the tray by her feet, along with scattered pieces of broken glass, tea, rice balls, and miso soup around it. "Honda-san? What happened? Are you okay?" Her yes still on the door, Tohru nodded. She finally snapped back to reality and looked around at Yuki, and then at her feet. "Nyaaaaaaa!" she squeaked. "I broke the cups! And spilt the tea and the soup! And the rice balls! I'm so sorry!" As she quickly squatted down to pick everything up, she slipped in the spilt liquid and began to fall back! "Honda-san!" Yuki called. He made an attempt to grab her hand, her shoulder—something to keep her from falling—but instead he slipped as well, and stumbled on top of her. Then there was the infamous 'POOF' followed by a cloud of gray smoke. In the midst of the smoke stood a tiny white rat, along with a weeping Tohru.
"I'm so sorry Yuki-kun!" Tohru wailed. "I'm so pathetic! This is all my fault! I'm so sorry!" The smoke disappeared and Yuki climbed onto the top of Tohru's knee. "Please Honda-san. If you go on any longer you'll begin to sound like Ritsu! It's alright. As long as you're not hurt, there's nothing to worry about! All we have to do is clean up and it'll be fine." Tohru sniffed and dabbed her eyes with the hem of her apron. "But," she said between hiccups, "it was my fault!"
"Don't worry about it," Yuki said, a little sternly. "Let's clean up…I'll get off your lap before I—" Yuki was cut off by yet another 'POOF', and Tohru shrieked, jumped up, and ran out of the room to give some privacy to change. Once Yuki motioned for her to come back in, he and Tohru began cleaning up the dropped items. Yuki questioned her several times about it, but Tohru just smiled nervously and said there was nothing to worry about. While she cleaned and helped Yuki out, she couldn't stop thinking about Kyo. Am I sure he's the little boy? He seemed very hesitant about it…Oh, I hope I didn't make him uncomfortable by questioning him so much! Tohru was ripped away from her thoughts by Yuki. "You won't have to make more breakfast," he said. "We'll just order takeout." Tohru shook her head and politely protested it, but Yuki only smiled and insisted. "You have to get ready for school. It'll take you a long time to make it all again. It's not big deal…We've had takeout before." Tohru opened her mouth, but Yuki lightly placed a slender finger on her nose. "Go get ready for school, Honda-san. I'll order breakfast while you're upstairs."
Tohru nodded and went upstairs to change into her uniform for school. Before going to her room, she stopped in front of Kyo's door and stared at it. She wanted to question him so much, but she knew he would chase her away. Tohru decided that she would try to confront him about it later on, and continued to her room where she changed out of her blouse and skirt and into her uniform. Once she was finished, she went to her window to take a good look outside; the view satisfied her. The sun was bright, the sky was clear, and it began to feel like spring again. Tohru headed out of her room and met Yuki downstairs, who had just finished ordering breakfast for the house. The breakfast arrived a little bit after Shigure came down, and him, Yuki, and Tohru happily ate it together (Kyo was still up in his room).
When it was time to go to school, Tohru gathered her courage and went up to Kyo's room. She quietly knocked on the door, hearing a low, "Come in," in response to it. She was surprised Kyo had even heard the knock, let along had invited her into the room. She turned the knob and opened the door to see Kyo sitting on his bed with his back to her. His head was rested on his curled up knees, and he was in his school uniform. "Um, Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun and I are going to school now. Aren't you going to walk with us?" Kyo shifted in his spot on the bed and planted his feet on the floor. He rose up from the bed, grabbed his backpack from off the floor by the end of his bed, and brushed passed Tohru. When he was at the stairs she heard him say, "Let's go," before he went down the stairs.
The walk to school only enclosed conversation from Yuki and Tohru. Yuki talked about how he was doing on the student council, and Tohru listened cheerfully, adding a comment every once in a while on how she thought Yuki was a great student body president. Kyo didn't say anything, and only looked down at his feet for the whole walk. Tohru knew she had made him uncomfortable earlier that morning, and she wanted to have the chance to talk to him about it either in school or later that evening at home. She had made the decision in advance that she would visit her grandfather on the upcoming Sunday, due to having to work every night during the week.
School went by slow, for Tohru was anxious to get home to talk to Kyo. Saki of course sensed that something was wrong, but Tohru insisted that there wasn't.
"Tohru-kun, your waves seem to be troublesome today. Is something the matter?" Arisa also added, "Yeah, you look pretty worried about something. Are the Prince and Orangey bugging you?" Tohru shook her head. "No! Don't worry…Nothing's wrong! I was just…Thinking!" Arisa shrugged, still unconvinced, and Saki just nodded as if Tohru were an experiment she was studying. As for Kyo, he avoided Tohru all day. This bothered her, and she felt more uneasy about talking to him, regarding that morning. Could I be right then? She thought. Is Kyo-kun that little boy? If he wasn't, he would be talking to me more, right? Oh, I'm so confused about all of this!
Yuki stayed after school for a student council meeting that afternoon, leaving Tohru and Kyo to walk home together. As they walked, Tohru could feel the rift in the air growing larger between them. She clutched the handle of her school bag, causing her knuckles to turn white from her grasping grip. Kyo walked ahead of her, but stayed close by and made sure Tohru was still behind him every once in a while. She kept her gaze on her feet, making sure she didn't look up at Kyo.
Tohru found herself bumping into him, for he had stopped dead in his tracks. He held up a hand and covered his face, mumbling things to himself that Tohru couldn't hear. But then she heard something that was addressed to her. "I'm…Sorry," Kyo said blandly. Tohru picked up her head, staring at his back. He continued, his voice beginning to sound hoarse. "I didn't mean to act that way this morning…And…" He paused, and Tohru stepped in front of him to face him, and she could see the nervous look on his face. His eyes were widened like earlier that morning, and his mouth was dropped open. Tohru could tell by the look in his widened eyes that he was searching for the words to say, but couldn't quite find them. "Kyo-kun?" she said, unsure of whether she should have spoken or not. Kyo sighed and nodded, slowly closing his eyes. "You were right. I was that little boy you were talking about. We both knew each other when we were little…I met your mom one day. She was trying to jump…I-I mean, she was sitting by the ocean, and I was sitting there too. Then she looked at me and asked me if I was lost…And she also asked me where my mom was. We started talking…Then she told me about you. Another time when we saw each other she had a picture of you and showed me it. Then she said that I should meet you one day, and I did…Me and you became friends and we would play at your house, in the park, and your mom would take us places.
"Your mom told me a lot about your dad and her relationship with her parents…I thought it was kind of weird that she was telling all of these things to a little boy, but she said she needed someone to talk to. She told me that you didn't have a lot of friends, so when we started playing together she thought that I could maybe help you make some more. Pretty soon, I stopped playing with you, and I stopped talking to your mom. But before I did, I made a promise to her…And I'm sorry…I didn't really keep it."
Tohru stared at Kyo in disbelief and he began walking again. She called out his name, but he didn't respond. He just kept walking, leaving Tohru to ponder what he said while she stood there in surprise. She watched as he disappeared behind the trees in the forest that led to Shigure's house. There was a bench beside the sidewalk, so Tohru sat down and placed her bag next to her. She sat her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her open hands. "So, he was that little boy," she said quietly to herself. She replayed all of what he said to her, but then grew puzzled over him keeping a promise to her. What kind of promise would he have possibly made with her mother? Was it about her? None of that made sense to Tohru. "Okay, I knew Kyo when I was little…But does that mean I knew more Sohma's? Did I know Yuki-kun? And Kyo-kun said that mom told him about my father…That means he'll be able to tell me things about him! I better go home right away so I have time to make dinner, do my homework, and talk to Kyo-kun before I go to work!" She got up and hurried through the forest. She managed to trip over a few rocks, and she lost her balance by stepping into some holes, adding new scars and patches of dirt onto her legs.
When she got home, Tohru found Kyo nowhere downstairs. She figured he had gone up to his room, or the roof, to avoid her for the rest of the night like he did that morning. While doing her homework in her own bedroom, Tohru lacked concentration. She kept coming up with new questions to ask Kyo about her father. She found herself actually writing them out as answers to some of her arithmetic problems. For the problems that utterly confused her, she left for Yuki to help her with once he got home from the student council meeting. Tohru cleaned the kitchen once she got downstairs, and found it to be completely deserted. She took a guess that Shigure was in his office (one again), and Kyo-kun upstairs somewhere. After forty-five minutes or so of cleaning, Yuki arrived home from school in a rather tense matter.
"Welcome home Yuki-kun!" Tohru greeted him once he walked into the house. "How was the student council meeting?" Yuki groaned to himself while he took off his coat and put down his school bag. "It was…Frustrating. All Kakeru did was joke around, Toudou-san kept staring at me, and Naoto kept bossing everyone around. I hope I can at least have a nice night." He sighed. Tohru tightened her grip on the broom she was holding, and reassured Yuki that if he quickly did his homework and then took a warm bath, he would have a nice evening. Yuki liked that idea and headed upstairs to start his homework when Tohru bashfully asked him if he could help her with hers also. He gladly accepted and helped her with the few problems she was confused about. Then Tohru left him to do his own homework by himself, and she made dinner. An hour had passed when Kyo finally appeared, and it turned out he was on the roof.
"Ah, Kyo-kun! Will you be joining us for dinner?" Tohru asked while chopping vegetables. Kyo nodded and yawned while rubbing his eyes. "Yeah…I guess…" Tohru noticed his sluggish attitude and suggested he lay down a bit before dinner. "Nah…I fell asleep on the roof before. Damn those shingles…" He rubbed on his back as he headed off to the bathroom. Tohru finished up making dinner and served it right before she went to work. Work seemed like days for Tohru; she wanted to get home she could ask Kyo the questions she came up with about her father. While she mopped the marble floor of the Sohma building, the older employees there complimented on how she did a wonderful job everyday, like usual. Finally, eight o'clock came, Yuki picked her up, and they walked home in silence, for Yuki was too tired for words.
At home, Tohru sat up in her room. She remembered that she hadn't gone to her grandfather's yet. "Oh, I completely forgot!" she shrieked to herself. "But now that you mention it, I can ask Kyo-kun all the things I need to know. He did say that mom told him a lot about my father." Her mind shifted to Kyo, and that instant she got up and walked out of her room and headed to his. She knocked on the door and waited for him to invite her in. Instead, he came to the door. It was slightly ajar, so all Tohru could see of his face was one amber colored eye, half of his nose, and half of his mouth. "You wanna talk, right?" he said lowly when he appeared at the door. Tohru nodded and grinned. "If you don't mind! If you don't want to, I understand! I just have so many questions on my mind…" Without any word, he opened the door and stepped to the side so she could walk in. He closed the door behind him and told her she could sit down. Tohru sat down on the floor, leaning on her knees because she was wearing a skirt. Kyo sat on the floor as well, and crossed his legs Indian-style.
"Well, what do you wanna ask me?" Kyo inquired after a little bit of silence. Tohru shifted as her shoulders slumped. "I'd like to know about my father. My mom told you about him right?" Kyo put his head down and nodded. It was pretty hard telling Tohru all of this. He knew he was giving in too easy, but since she was asking, he couldn't help himself. And it was so hard for him to say 'no' to her…
Kyo thought for a minute, and tried to remember what Kyoko had told him about Katsuya when he was younger. There was how the two had met, how Katsuya had helped Kyoko when she was in school, how they fell in love, when they had Tohru, how Katsuya passed away, how Kyoko mourned over him…Kyo didn't know where to start. He took a deep sigh and decided to start from the beginning. "Okay," he said, picking his head up. "I'm going to tell you how your parents met, and then I guess I'll go on from there." Tohru nodded. "Thank you so much Kyo-kun! I don't know how to repay you!" He shook his head. "Wait for me to start…Jeez." With one final thought, he began.
"Your mom and dad met in school. Your dad was your one of your mom's teachers, and she didn't really like him at first. She said that after he took her out for lunch one day, they began to see each other more. Then your mom said she began to fall in love with him, but was scared to tell him because she felt that she wasn't feminine enough. Your dad still wanted to see her, and her gang wasn't so happy about it. They beat her up so much that she had to be hospitalized—" Tears began to run down Tohru's face, but Kyo hadn't noticed because he had turned and faced the wall, his back to her. "—then your mom's parents disowned her because they were really unhappy with her. They pretty much didn't care for her anymore, so you dad took her out of the hospital. Your dad proposed to your mom soon, and they got married.
"Your dad's relatives weren't too thrilled with the fact that your dad was marrying your mom…His father, your grandfather, didn't really seem to have a problem with it though. Then your parents lived happily together, and your mom became pregnant. She honestly didn't want to have a baby because she felt that she wouldn't be able to raise one, but you dad said that he'd help her in any way possible. Once you were born, your grandpa told your mom that she was probably the best thing that ever happened to your dad. He said that your dad never showed that kind of affection to anyone before…Your mom didn't really believe him. She didn't think she would be able to change anyone like that.
"One night, your dad had to work late at night at his job, and your mom began to suspect something…She then got a call saying that your dad died while working because it had a cold, and it turned fatal. She was pretty upset about it for a while, but then she figured that she had to get herself together and take care of you." Kyo took one breath, indicating that he was finished. Tohru held back the tears that formed in her eyes. She wanted to hug Kyo so much, as a thank you for telling her all about her father, and some things about her mother that she didn't even now until then. She got up, wiped her eyes with the bottom of her shirt, and knelt by Kyo. She planted a kiss on his cheek and got up, exiting the room. Kyo's eyes widened as he brought up one of his hands to the part of his cheek she had kissed. His face turned more crimson than a rose as he stared at the wall. Tohru still stood in the doorway. "Thank you…Kyo-kun…This has made me so happy! I'm so glad I can know some new things about my father! I don't know how I can repay you!" She then headed back to her room. Once she was out of earshot, Kyo whispered, "You just did."
In Tohru's room, she got ready for bed, then she went to the bathroom to freshen up for the night. She went downstairs to say good night to Yuki and Shigure, and then retired to her bedroom. Tohru climbed into bed and took a good look of the moon that shined in the midnight black sky outside her window. "Mom," she said. "I'm so happy I got to learn more about you and Dad. I didn't know that Kyo-kun knew us when he was little. I can't help but think that maybe we knew more Sohma's…Please, if we did, help me remember…But I want to thank you for being such a wonderful mother, and thank you so much for raising me like her did when dad passed away. I don't think I could have asked for a better mother." Before Tohru knew, her eyelids connected, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Now, how was that? I hope you all liked it! I enjoy writing this story so much…I was so happy when the idea popped into my head! I will have the next chapter up by Thursday. I'm sorry it took me about a week to update…I get distracted a lot when I write!
-September Whisper