The Common Link

Disclaimer: I, of course, do not own the rights to 'Fruits Basket.'

Kyou listened absent-mindedly to the dull sounds of the conversation below him. He was seething with anger, furious that Yuki had been, yet again, too formidable an opponent for him. 'Why can't I beat him!' Kyou demanded of himself, "Why? I spend nearly every hour of the day training, and he beats me without even breaking a sweat!" Kyou placed his forehead in his hands, breathing heavily, the rage and chagrin of another defeat coursing through his body like a vengeful poison. He sat like this for several minutes, not wanting to look up. He didn't know what he would do if anyone came up to see him. He was quite predisposed to shouting them off the roof; and if Yuki came up, he was so infuriated that he may even be inclined to shove him off the roof. 'I probably couldn't even do that...' Kyou thought angrily. Finally, he lifted his head up. He had wept a little, from the sheer vexation the past few days had caused him. "Damn rat...' he muttered under his breath, a grimace crossing his face as he wiped away the rare tears. 'Why the hell am I crying?' Kyou asked of himself indignantly, as he sniffled lightly. 'C'mon, get it together,' he remonstrated himself. He stood up, and began pacing, trying to wipe the memory of the recent altercation from his mind. He paused as he heard the familiar sound of the shoji as it was pried open, soon followed by the sound of light footsteps moving away from the house. 'Tooru-kun must be off to work..' he thought sadly. He had wanted to talk to her. That was why he had initially been so calm with Yuki - he didn't want any attention drawn to him, so as to have a better chance of speaking unnoticed with Tooru. But Yuki, for some inexplicable reason, had had an urge to speak with him; and what's more, he had wanted to question him. Kyou was willing to accommodate Yuki's interrogation; to a certain point, that is; but Yuki had superceded that point in asking for Kyou's motives in surrendering a portion of the money to him in the scholarship competition. Kyou wasn't good at prevarications; and Yuki didn't accept in the slightest his insistence that he had done it to merely have the whole thing out of the way. At that juncture, Kyou had abandoned conversing with Yuki, and resorted to his forte concerning interpersonal relations: fighting. Of course, the unlikely martial arts virtuoso Yuki had defeated him once again, and Kyou had retreated to the roof in shame. Kyou gritted his teeth as the memory flashed through his mind for the nth time since he had fled up to the roof. He continued pacing, his agitation growing. He wondered why Yuki had even cared why he had made the suggestion to the faculty. He had assumed that he was merely the 'baka neko' to Yuki - of little or no consequence. But apparently, his actions were of some interest to Yuki. This was very intriguing to Kyou; and quite an intriguing twist of fate - now he was also interested in what had fomented Yuki's actions. Perhaps it was the same reason for his actions - Tooru. Kyou had been in love with her almost from the start; and he was always afraid that she would disappear, that she would stop caring for him, that someone would take her from him: essentially, he was afraid of losing her love. He had suspected that Yuki also shared the same feelings for Tooru; and now he had something to support that supposition. 'Damn rat,' Kyou muttered, 'he just has to take everything away from me...' Kyou finally stopped pacing, and sat down. It was almost a given to him that in a rivalry of love Yuki would be superior to him as in battle. He didn't know what he had hoped to accomplish by settling the competition amiably; it's not like it would put him ahead of Yuki in Tooru's eyes. Perhaps he had just wanted to make Tooru happy; to see that effervescent smile which revealed itself at even the most insignificant delights; to cheer the girl who had given him so much in so short a time. This alone was worth Kyou's minor submission to Yuki, which had irked him greatly as he conceived it, and carried it out. He smiled as he remembered how overjoyed she had been. 'Tooru-kun...' he murmured, wondering how she was faring at work. He knew what a diligent worker she was, and he admired her greatly for it. Suddenly, he thought of a way in which he could get some time to speak with Tooru privately: he would go speak to her at work. 'Ah, but doesn't that damn rat go and walk her home every night?' he remembered dejectedly. But he could beat him there! Kyou, his mind made up, leapt defly off the roof, landing lightly on the ground below. He began to walk to Tooru's place of work. He wouldn't interrupt her shift, but he would speak to her in private, if only for a moment, before the damn rat arrived to walk her home. He'd wait as long as he'd have to; anything for a moment with Tooru.