Her Gift
By Mayumi Takanashi
Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or any of its characters.
Author's Notes: Something bad is going to happen in this chapter. I mean really bad. No, I'm not joking; it's really bad. You should be able to figure it out when you read it. It happens real sudden. Also, once again, it is very angsty, and I know this even though I have not written the chapter. How do I know this? Because it's Monday and we all know what those are like. Tomorrow is an orthodontist appointment, so I'm really…well…those of you with braces or other metal appliance in your mouth know how those days can make you feel. So anyway, here goes the last chapter…
The very moment the school bell rang, Yuki and Kyo were the first to open the large double doors at the school entrance. Every other student filed out of the large building at a slow, sleepy pace, but two Sohma boys raced out ahead of the others and did not stop running until they reached their home.
They almost tore down the delicate doors as they entered the kitchen, where Shigure sat reading the paper.
"Oh, do try to be more careful!" he exclaimed with an air of desperation. "You know very well that we don't have the kind of money to rebuild this place every single day!"
"Where is she?" they asked loudly.
"You two have such a habit of worrying over our little flower entirely too much," Shigure told them, shaking his head.
"WHERE?" they bellowed.
"Oh, my!" said Shigure in a small voice. "U-upstairs…"
They each sprinted up the stairs and burst into Tohru's room where she sat on her bed, holding her mother's picture in her hands.
"Have you been crying again?" asked Kyo, rolling his eyes.
Tohru's lip quivered, then she startled them both by suddenly breaking out into tears.
"You stupid cat!" whispered Yuki. "Could you be more insensitive?"
"Ah!" he replied, rushing to Tohru, leaving Yuki as he accidentally scolded the wall.
"Don't cry!" he said, panicking beside her bed.
"I'm s-sorry, K-Kyo…" she whimpered helplessly.
"Look," he said, taking a deep breath and talking in a calm voice, "You really need to pull yourself together! It's driving everyone nuts, listening to you cry and cry and cry even more! For your own sake, stop freaking out all the time!"
At this, she started to bawl even harder.
"I don't like it when you're sad. And besides, I don't think your mom would want you to be sad, either."
Kyo ran his fingers through his hair as he glanced away from Tohru. She instantly stopped crying, and stared at Kyo as if she had never seen him in her life. To escape Tohru's penetrating gaze, he walked to the corner of the room and leaned against the wall, folding his arms across his chest.
"I-I can't help it…" she breathed, climbing out of bed. Her uniform was still on her, but her hair looked unbrushed and her once rosy cheeks seemed ghostly pale.
Yuki stared at her. This looked so familiar…Was it because she had the same look on her face the night of Kyo's transformation? Her eyes…her eyes had the same glazed look, and her clothes seemed to hang loosely on her skin. The air around her seemed frightened, confused, disoriented. When she walked, her body swayed unsteadily, and she stumbled forward, unbalanced. She could not hold herself up any longer, and fell to the floor in a heap. Yuki rushed forward, as did Kyo. They tried to help her up, but she resisted. Unable to do anything else, they sat there, stroking her back and her soft hair, while she buried her head into her arms, and sat in a huddle on the ground.
-Her Gift-
A few minutes later, they noticed Shigure come into the room very slowly. There was a solemn look on his usually goofy face. Biting his lower lip, he looked very uncomfortable, yet still grave. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no sound issued from it. He tried again, but failed miserably. Finally, he was able to conjure up some quiet phrase:
"Can I speak to you both downstairs?"
"Yeah, sure," they replied, standing up beside the crumpled Tohru. They forced themselves to leave her, as much as it pained them.
After they had reached the foot of the stairs, Shigure turned to the two of them, but looked down at his feet.
"I just got a phone call from the downtown hospital…" His voice trailed off, and seemed unable to continue.
Yuki and Kyo stared at him as his toes wriggled in his socks. Then, with newfound courage, he looked them straight in the eyes.
"Her grandfather just had a heart attack. The doctor I spoke to said he didn't…didn't make it."
A cold shiver ran down each boy's spine. They were suddenly frozen with horror, trying to comprehend fully what was just told to them.
"I wasn't sure how to break the news to her, especially when she was lying on the floor like that."
"Someone has to tell her," said Kyo shakily.
"It wouldn't be fair to keep her from the truth," added Yuki, inhaling deeply.
None of them could imagine the reaction Tohru would have when she discovered this news. Would she cry? Or would her grief be so beyond tears that she would just sit there and let it sink in? Let the words echo in her mind? It seemed heartless to tell her know, but it seemed cruel keep her from what had just happened to the only relative she had left who cared about her.
Yuki and Kyo remembered the day they had found out about her parents' death. Her father died of sickness, her mother died from an accident, and now her grandfather was dead. How could she have possibly endured this agonizing pain for long? It now has become too much for her, and now she was being eaten away by her past. And now, what was to become of her? Now that the person she held most dearly was gone, what was to become of her?
"Let's wait a few hours. For now, let's just comfort her until the time comes," said Yuki monotonously.
-Her Gift-
It had been three days since Tohru found out what had happened to her grandfather. She kept herself locked up in her room, not letting anyone enter and not speaking to anyone. Momiji had come by looking for her, noticing her disappearance from school. Kisa had come along, but Tohru wouldn't see either of them. The entire household worried about her, because she would not eat, she barely slept, and whenever anyone caught a glimpse of her through a crack in the door, she appeared gaunt and disheveled.
Finally, the first of May arrived. It was the funeral of her grandfather, and the second anniversary of her mother's death. Yuki and Kyo worried about Tohru. How would she handle herself on this day?
Shigure and Kyo got dressed in black attire, intending to go to the ceremony. They decided to leave it to Yuki to see if she would go. Kyo was trying to avoid Tohru. He didn't know how to handle the way she was acting because it made him uncomfortable…and he missed the old Tohru.
"Miss Honda?" asked Yuki softly as he slid open her bedroom door.
There was no response from the lump under the quilt.
"I was, ah, just wondering what you had on the agenda for today."
No answer.
"I was just on my way to the temple for your grandfather's funeral, and I was hoping you would attend as well."
The blanket slowly shifted. Tohru's head peaked out from underneath. She saw Yuki, dressed in a black suit and holding her funeral dress in his arms, still in its dry-cleaning bag and on its hanger.
"If we hurry, we'll catch the last ten minutes of it."
He tried to act very casual about it, yet was very cautious. He did not want to upset Tohru in any way, but he was very unsure how to talk to her.
She nodded her head slowly, her face blank and her eyes unfocused. As if in slow motion, she pushed the sheets off of her frail body and stood up.
-Her Gift-
When they stepped outside, the rain was pouring heavily. Yuki held an umbrella over his and Tohru's head. Their pace was slow, and by the time they reached the temple, the funeral was already over.
"Why don't we visit your mother's grave?" suggested Yuki, acting casual again.
She simply nodded.
When they reached the tombstone, what they found shocked Tohru beyond belief. A whole crowd of people lined the sidewalk where Kyoko was buried. Each one held a candle, careful to protect the flame from the rain, and they all turned to face Tohru.
They were all there: Uo, Hana, Hatori, Ayame, Momiji, Kisa, Ritsu, Hatsuharu, Kagura, Shigure, Kyo, and everyone else. The looks on their faces were sad, and they all stared at Tohru with pity in their eyes.
"They're all here for you," said Yuki, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"We're all very worried about you," added Kyo, stepping forward and slipping his hand into Tohru's.
Together, the three of them walked forward, and the small crowd parted. Tohru sank to the wet ground in front of the grave. She murmured a prayer, and only she knew what it was:
"Oh, Mom, thank you so much for bringing all these wonderful people into my life. I've been such a fool over the past two weeks, and I should really be ashamed. They have given me so much, and have always been there for me. From now on, I promise you that I will not doubt myself, and I'll make up all my schoolwork that I missed, and I'll clean the house when we get home! When we get home…"
"Miss Honda?"
Tohru stood up, beaming. She felt so happy, like her mother and grandfather's spirits gave her this happiness. She wanted to share this feeling with everyone.
"How about we all go home and I'll fix everyone a great big dinner?"
Author's Notes: Well, that was it, and thanks to everyone who sent in reviews! I really am happy that others understand my Fruits Basket woes! I really do hope they make a second season. If anyone starts a petition, I'll be the first to sign! I'm sorry I took so long in writing this, but I kinda got stuck after Yuki and Kyo decide not to tell Tohru about her grandfather for a while. Finally, almost a week later, I complete this fanfic and move on to the next…