What Goes On in a Man's Head
By Mayumi Takanashi
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters.
"High school girls! High school girls! All for meee!" Shigure chanted. Skipping down the hall, he entered the dining room, waiting to eat another delicious home-cooked meal.
"Good morning!" exclaimed Tohru, bringing in a tray of yummy breakfast goodies. At the sound of her voice, Kyo and Yuki came in through separate doors and sat down, yawing.
"I'm sure you two will be having fun at school today…" whispered Shigure slyly to the boys. In return for his comment, he received a slap on the head from each of them.
"I can't wait to see Hatsuharu and Momiji!" said Tohru excitedly. "I'm sure they're having a good day!"
Yuki and Kyo froze. Haru would be polite to Tohru, but if he went Black…
"I'll clean up here, Miss Honda, then we can walk to school," said Yuki in his soft voice. "Kyo, why don't you help me?"
Everyone stared. Even though Yuki loathed Kyo, he was inviting him to wash dishes…together!
"What the heck…" said a shocked Kyo.
"We can let Tohru get ready and we can talk."
"Thank you both!" said Tohru gratefully. She was so happy that Yuki was making an attempt to try and be friends with Kyo!
Shigure sprinted to the hall to call Ayame about what was happening with the two boys. Kyo cautiously followed him to the kitchen, ready to attack…
-What Goes On in a Man's Head-
"We need to protect Tohru from Black-Haru," Yuki stated, picking up a bowl and rubbing soap into it.
"I think we'll be okay if we keep him from going Black," he replied with a breath of relief. Crossing his arms, he leaned back against the wall.
"Once he goes Black, who knows how he'll behave," Yuki explained, drying the dishes.
"But if he does, he's sure to go for Tohru first," said Kyo seriously. "I mean, he's all over her even when the curse is acting on him, but now that it isn't…"
There was a long, silent pause. The only sound in the room was the running water from the sink, and Shigure's voice faintly chattering away to Aya.
"I'm going to school!" yelled Kyo, somewhat frustrated for unknown reasons. Grabbing his bag, he threw open the door and slammed it close behind him. The sliding door rattled, being as delicate as it was.
Tohru entered the kitchen moments later. She looked with admiration at the sparkling dishes sitting out to dry on the counter.
"Where's Kyo?" she asked.
"He's already left," explained Yuki, picking up his own book bag. "Shall we go?" he asked, offering his arm to her. She took it, blushing a deep scarlet. Together they walked to school, arm in arm, and Tohru prepared to start the school day with four curse-free Sohma boys.
-What Goes On in a Man's Head-
"Tohru!" shouted a young boy's voice from down the hall. Momiji came running toward her, and flung his arms around her waist. His small sailor hat tumbled off his curly blond hair as he gave Tohru a tight squeeze.
"Momiji!" exclaimed Tohru happily. "How are you?"
"I'm having the best day of my life!" said Momiji, keeping his small arms tightly around her.
"You're gonna kill her!" yelled Kyo, knocking his little arms off of her body.
"Wah! Someone! Kyo's picking on me!"
"Hello, everyone," said a monotone voice behind the group. Yuki and Kyo winced as they all turned around.
"Haru," whisper the two boys shakily.
"I hope you're not picking on little Momiji here," said Haru casually.
"NO!" said Kyo angrily.
"Apologize," demanded Hatsuharu.
"There is no way!" replied the cat.
"Kyo, why don't you apologize?" said Yuki forcefully. "We don't want to make Haru angry, do you?"
Tohru looked stupidly between the four Sohmas.
"I'm…I'm…I'M SORRY!" bellowed Kyo. He raced away down the hall and the group could hear a door slamming in the distance.
"Tohru, can I speak to you in private?" asked Haru, completely ignoring Kyo's outburst.
"Actually, she needs to come with me to class," Yuki lied.
"I'll only be a moment," said Haru.
Yuki gaped speechlessly as the cow grabbed Tohru's wrist and led her up the hallway. Momiji insisted on coming too, but Haru told him not to.
-What Goes On in a Man's Head-
He turned around to face her, his expression suddenly vivid and animated. Eyes wide and evil grin stretching from ear to ear, his spirit filled the area with an energetic air. There was no mistake, this was Black-Haru!
"Hey, sweetheart, why don't you come a bit closer and give me a kiss?" he said, taking her chin in his hands. As he leaned in toward her, she struggled to be let free.
"You stupid cow!" yelled an enraged voice. Haru separated himself from Tohru, just as he was slammed into a locker. Tohru was shoved aside, away from the fight. It was Kyo, coming to her rescue! Then came in Yuki, followed closely by Momiji.
"Miss Honda, and you hurt at all?" asked Yuki turning her shoulders to face him. Momiji ran up to her, offering words of comfort.
The battle raged on between the cat and cow. Kyo was fighting as he had not ever done before, with such a strength never seen by anyone. His rage seemed to be transferred into energy, punching and kicking Haru and cursing at him angrily. His opponent screamed in pain, but Kyo showed no mercy.
"Kyo Sohma, please follow me to the office!" thundered a strong, man's voice as Kyo was lifted by his shirt collar by a muscular hand. It was the vice principal, preparing to take the boy to his office to assign a detention.
As Kyo was dragged away, Haru scrambled up, with bruises and scratches covering his pale face. He looked towards Tohru.
"Don't you dare think about taking a step toward her!" shouted Yuki, pounding his fist into his hand.
Haru scrambled off, while Momiji ran to the nurse's office to get some bandages for him.
"Miss Honda, did he do anything to you at all?" he asked softly, his piercing violet eyes staring deeply into her own turquoise ones.
"Nothing, he just trying to, uh, well…" stuttered Tohru.
"Kiss you?"
"Um, sort of…" she replied, looking away from his gaze.
"Well, you're safe now. Nothing will happen to you, I promise."
-What Goes On in a Man's Head-
A few hours after Yuki and Tohru got home from school, they heard a door slam and a loud stomping up the stairs. They knew that Kyo must be home from serving detention, and Tohru had made him a small snack for him.
Leaving Yuki behind at the kitchen table to do his homework, Tohru wrapped the small bowl of rice in a napkin and ascended the ladder to the roof. Just as she suspected, there was Kyo, leaning back on the shingles and staring up at the azure sky.
"I brought you something to eat," said Tohru shyly. Kyo looked over to her, and his upset face softened slightly at the sight of her.
"Oh, thanks," he replied dully, taking the bowl from her with one hand and helping her on the roof with the other.
They sat side by side, looking to the heavens as Kyo munched slowly at his rice. A silence hung over them, like a heavy fog. It was Tohru's voice that broke the silence.
"Thank you for what you did today," thanked Tohru.
"It was nothing," he sighed.
"But I was really frightened when he leaned in toward me like that!" exclaimed Tohru. "I'm really glad you saved me!"
Kyo turned to look at her. Tohru felt like she had to do something more to thank him for going to detention all for her.
"Really, it's no big deal," he said.
She leaned in toward him and gently kissed him on the cheek.
Kyo's expression changed dramatically. His eyes widen with surprise, and his body suddenly went stiff. He watched her in shock as she walk toward the ladder and climbed down.
"No…thank you," he whispered wistfully after her.
Author's Notes: YAY! I finally got it done! School's really been taking up a lot of my time, but I'll try to get another chapter up by tomorrow. If I can't, I should get one up by the end of the week. If I still don't get it up by then, then I'm probably dead. : )