Chapter 11: I Didn't Mean To Worry You
Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long to update! But like I said, this is a long chapter! Probably the longest I've ever written, all stories, Fruits Basket and others, included! I just wanted to smack myself for making the last chapter so short. Sorry if some of the Yukiru scenes were too fluffy, cutesy, and gooey, I just wanted to get some good stuff in there. This story is part romance, after all. YUKIRU ROMANCE! Well, I hope you like!
"High school girls, high school girls, all for me, high school girls!" Shigure started to sing loudly as he pranced around the house in his kimono. Though it was only 8 O'clock in the morning and the Kaibara School Festival was in 10 hours, Shigure wanted to get up and ready earlier. The dog entered the kitchen, still singing, and saw Tohru, as usual, preparing breakfast.
"Good morning, Tohru-kun," Shigure said in a sing-song voice.
"Good morning, Shigure-san!" Tohru said, half smiling. Yesterday's events still lingered in her mind, but she was trying hard to not think of it. She just had to keeping thinking that everything would turn out alright. "I can see that you're looking forward to the festival?"
"Oh, yes," Shigure said smiling. "High school girls as far as the eye could see!" Not a moment after he had said that did a fist come hurling towards Shigure's head, and the contact sounded through the kitchen.
"Ow! Yuki-kun, that wasn't very nice; it hurt!" Shigure whined as he rubbed his head.
"Well, stop being such a pervert, then," Yuki said, sitting down at the table. "You're out of luck if you think we'll bail you out of jail if you get arrested at the festival."
"You make me sound as if I have no decency," Shigure whined, but he suddenly stopped, as if he just remembered something. "You seem a lot healthier then you have been lately. Your punch was hard."
"I got a good night sleep, that's all," Yuki replied. Of course, he didn't feel as well as he looked. His throat was killing him and he felt light headed, but that wasn't important. He wanted to go to the festival to spend some time with Tohru, and those two little things just didn't matter. Besides which, his temperature was regular, so in all honesty, Yuki should be able to go.
"Well, Haa-san's still coming over to make sure you're ok," Shigure said as he sniffed at the aroma of the food Tohru had just made. Kyo then came in, half limping and sore.
"What's wrong with you, Kyo-kun?" Shigure asked as he gave him a confused look. "Did you fall out of bed again?"
"That only happened once, and I was just 6!" Kyo yelled as he sat down at the table. In all honesty, the Cat had spent 5 long hours practicing with his Shishou, and for nonstop. When Kyo went to Shishou for help, he gladly gave it, but not without question.
"Why are you willingly helping Yuki?" Kazuma asked, though he was smiling. "Not that anything is wrong with it; no, not at all. It's just that you hated him practically all your life."
"Yeah, well, I don't want him to die," Kyo grumbled. A while back he may have said, many times before, that he wished Yuki would disappear or die, but he never really meant it. However, there was no way he was going to admit that aloud to anyone else. "Besides, I don't want Tohru to get all upset." Kazuma smiled before replying.
"Well then, we better get started."
-
He was going to head over to the Dojo at Noon, since the festival was later in the day. They all sat down to eat the delicious breakfast Tohru made.
"So what booth are you working on, Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked as he practically shoved the food in his mouth.
"The onigiri booth again this year, from 6-8," Tohru said, smiling. "I'll have to make some extras before we go, though."
"I'll make sure to buy some!" Shigure said as he swallowed his food. "You're doing something, too, aren't you Kyon-Kyon?"
"STOP CALLING ME THAT," Kyo yelled loudly as his face contorted into a sour look. "Actually, I'm doing the best thing there!"
"Yeah, he's doing the ribbon booth," Yuki said as he got up to put his empty dishes in the sink. Then he added the last bit with sarcasm, "The festival would be nothing without that booth." Kyo gave Yuki a glare.
"It's not a 'ribbon' booth, you damn rat, it's a… a…" he paused and thought about what was said. It really was just a ribbon booth. There was an extra place to put something, and the students decided to put ribbons in that said booth. Since Kyo didn't sign up to help with anything at that time, he ended up with the ribbons, and for four long hours.
"Exactly," Yuki said, his voice indicating the obviousness of the subject.
"Yeah, well, at least I'm helping out!" Kyo yelled. "What are you doing?" Yuki, and even Shigure, raised an eyebrow at the stupidity of the question. Kyo even gave a look of revelation. They all decide, no matter how foolish the question was, to leave it alone and go on with their business.
As soon as everyone was finished eating and left the room, Tohru, who sat quietly almost the entire breakfast, happily listening to the conversations, started washing the dishes. She was silently humming to herself peacefully as she scrubbed the plates. It was then that she felt a hand come down gently on her shoulder, soon followed by the familiar, calming voice she was so use to.
"Here, let me help you with those, Honda-san."
"Thank you very much, Yuki-kun," Tohru replied with a smile as Yuki took a dry dish towel and started wiping the wet dishes. They both worked in silence, yet a comforting presence surrounded them. Yuki could slightly hear the smoothness of Tohru's breath, and he could feel his heart beat rhythmically.
"You know, I didn't get a chance to say good morning to you," Yuki said in a half whisper. Before Tohru could answer, Yuki bent down and gently kissed her on the lips. The moment seemed to last forever for Tohru, though in reality it was just a short, sweet kiss. He seemed to have a special ability to make her feel weightless, happy, and, of course, weak in the knees.
"Oh ho ho, young love blossoms, and in my very own kitchen!" Shigure stood in the doorway, laughing light heartedly. Yuki took his now damp dish rag and threw it at Shigure, hitting him square in the face.
"The abuse I suffer each day," Shigure whimpered. He scooted back out the door to avoid having something else thrown at him, and Yuki turned to Tohru, who was a deep shade of red. He decided to change the subject so she could feel a bit more comfortable.
"Would you like to go to the Secret Base when we're done, Honda-san?"
"Oh, yes, I would love to," she said, smiling at him warmly.
As they finished up the truck load of dishes, mainly courtesy of Shigure, Yuki and Tohru put on their shoes, grabbed some gloves and a bucket for whatever was ready to be picked, and headed towards the Base.
"I think the strawberries are ready," Yuki said. "The leeks might be, as well."
"That's wonderful," Tohru said, smiling. "I love strawberries!" Yuki laughed lightly and then took Tohru's hand and laced his fingers with hers. Blushing, though still smiling, Tohru took a glance at Yuki. She was happy to see that he was looking better than he had been the last few days, but she knew this curse was far from healing. Besides which, he may have looked healthy on the outside, he might still feel sick on the inside. Tohru shook the thoughts that made her so nervous and worried out of her head as the Base came into view. When the completely reached it, Yuki bent down and looked at the strawberries.
"Yeah, these are ready," he said with a smile as he placed the basket down next to him. "Do you want to pull them up while I take out the weeds, Honda-san?"
"Sure," Tohru replied kindly, and bent over the strawberries. Yuki took out the gloves in his pocket and started pulling up the weeds. Every few minutes he would glance up at Tohru just to get a good look at her. She seemed so peaceful and at ease that it put a warm smile on Yuki's face. However, he still felt sick and moving his head up and down so often made him feel a bit dizzy. He would have to remind himself to take something for it when they get back home. Even his throat was starting to itch, and he had to try and keep from coughing. Although it was harder to do then it seemed. Before he knew it, Yuki started coughing simultaneously.
"Yuki-kun, are you alright?" Tohru asked him worriedly. She got up, kneeled down next to him, and gently put a hand on his back. Yuki's coughs slowly decreased and he took a deep, calm breath. Tohru was still staring at him with big, worried eyes. "Yuki-kun?"
"Sorry, Honda-san," Yuki said as he cleared his throat. "My have gotten something caught in my throat."
Tohru gave him a questioning look. She had a strange feeling that it wasn't because of that, but that it was part of the 'curse.' Tohru hated seeing him so sick, on the inside and out, and her eyes became watery. Before she knew it, she threw her arms around Yuki's neck. Tohru refused to let the tears fall, but she couldn't help the fact that they were still there. She knew that Yuki still had time to get better, and Kyo was already practicing a lot.
"Honda-san, I'm sorry if I worried you," Yuki said as he put an arm around Tohru, though being careful not to get too close that he would change. "I'm fine, really." Tohru slowly pulled away and wiped away the tears in her eyes with her sleeve. She gave him a small smile and nodded. There was no need to get so emotional; not yet. For now, she was going to try to not get worried. Yuki and Kyo wouldn't give up until the very end.
As Yuki and Tohru headed back home with a basket of strawberries, they saw a car already pulled up next to the house. Yuki instantly knew whose car it was and gave a sigh.
'Of course,' he thought irritably as they both entered through the door. They took off their shoes and went into the kitchen, where they could hear people talking. Sitting at the table drinking tea was Shigure and, as Yuki had suspected, Hatori.
"See, Haa-san? I told you I didn't lose him!" Shigure said in triumph. Hatori rolled his eyes and looked at Yuki.
"How do you feel this morning?" he asked, looking at the silver haired boy somewhat suspiciously. He needed to make sure that Yuki was actually feeling well, and not lying just to go to the festival.
"Fine," Yuki replied. "I checked my temperature earlier and it's normal."
"Let's make sure!" Shigure said, and before Yuki could react, the dog shoved the thermometer in his mouth.
"Don't make him choke to death, Shigure," Hatori warned. After a few minutes Shigure pulled it out and Yuki gave a small cough.
"Yep, it's normal!" Shigure said as he shoved the thermometer right in Hatori's face. The doctor pushed it away and gave the dog a slightly annoyed look.
"Alright," Hatori said as he got up. He pulled a box of medicine out of his pocket and gave it to Yuki. "Take 2 of them before you go to the festival. It will give you some strength to last through all that pressure. I'm also going to be there…"
"Everyone's going!" Shigure said, acting like a five year old. He got up and stupidly danced around the table as if it were New Years.
"…To make sure everything goes alright," Hatori finished, ignoring Shigure's immaturity. Yuki nodded, as there was no reason to disagree. He only hoped that they don't closely follow him since he was feeling perfectly fine. Hatori then left the kitchen with a small wave.
"See you in 8 hours, Haa-san!" Shigure yelled after him before turning to Yuki. "You'd better get some rest, Yuki. We don't want you getting sick!"
"But I don't feel sick," Yuki argued annoyingly. "And I'm not tired."
"Now, now, don't whine about it!" Shigure said, shaking a finger. He got up and finished the tea he was drinking. "It's not mature to whine, dear little Yuki! Now, I better get my pages done before Mii comes crying in front of my door." Before Yuki could say anything about how Shigure was always immature and that he was even older then he was, the dog rushed out of the kitchen and into his room.
"Yuki-kun," a voice from the refrigerator turned his attention away from the annoyance of Shigure's actions. Tohru was putting the strawberries in to keep them fresh, but she was looking at him in slight worry. "Before we go to the festival, could you take a little rest? I mean, I'm not trying to force you, of course. It's just…I don't want you getting sick." Yuki looked at her for a few seconds before smiling gently at her and giving her a nod. Maybe he could rest, even for just a little bit. He just didn't want to worry Tohru anymore then she already was.
"Hurry up, you two!" Shigure said as he stood by the door way, all ready to leave. Even though the festival was in an hour, Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo had to be there early to get ready.
"Shut up, you stupid dog, we're coming," Kyo said as he came into view carrying a small box of supplies for his booth. Yuki was behind him with a clipboard tucked under his arm.
"Ok, let's go!" Shigure said, and he rushed out the door in hurry to see, as he calls it 'the creativity of the school.' They all knew, however, that he just wanted to see the high school girls, being the pervert that he was.
"Let me help you with those, Honda-san," Yuki said when he saw Tohru carrying two medium sized boxes.
"Oh no, it's fine!" Tohru said with a smile. She didn't want to load him with a useless box of onigiri.
"It's no problem," Yuki said. "I don't have anything to carry." Tohru hesitated before giving him one of the boxes. After making sure they had everything, Yuki and Tohru followed after Shigure and Kyo to the school.
When they got to the festival, there was already a crowd of people, but most of them were student workers. Shigure went off to look around as Kyo went to his booth, saying that he didn't want to be seen with a bunch of girly ribbons. Yuki and Tohru headed to the onigiri booth and put the boxes down on the table.
"Thank you very much!" Tohru said gratefully. Yuki gave her a smile and helped her unpack the rice balls. She had many different flavored ones in multiple colors and shapes. They smelled delicious and Yuki was sure that the onigiri booth would to the best, as he had already suspected.
"I should go help the others get set up in time," Yuki said as he saw, in a distance, Haru and Momiji trying to hammer up a sign to their booth. Seconds later Haru started yelling at the rabbit, and they both lost their balance and fell off. Yuki turned away and gave a sigh as he rubbed his temple. He shook his head, turned back to Tohru and gave her a small kiss on the cheek, telling her that he would see her later. Tohru watched Yuki walked off to help the troubled Haru and Momiji.
"Be careful," she whispered, and started getting her booth ready.
As soon as the festival began, a crowd of people came roaring in. Though big groups of people were likely to start, one bigger then normal combined together in front of one particular booth. Of course, what was there would have surely attracted them. Kyo stood in the middle of the booth, steaming with complete anger. The girls that were working the booth with him got the idea that to sell their ribbons they would need an advertisement. Surely a guy wearing pink, red, and all kinds of assorted ribbons in his hair would attract people.
"Get these damn things off me!" Kyo yelled at the other booth workers. He didn't like the fact that he was looking girly in front of so many people.
In the distance, Yuki was walking around, looking to see that everything was going alright. He saw the crowd and wondered over in curiosity. It was then that he saw the ribbon booth and had an idea of who was causing the slight commotion. When he saw Kyo, he couldn't help but let out a short, small laugh.
'Not a dress, but good enough,' Yuki thought as he smirked at the Cat. Now he was the one being embarrassed in front of practically all of the student body, and more.
"This is worth a shot," a voice from behind him said, and Yuki turned around. Shigure was standing there with a camera in his hand, laughing devilishly. What made Yuki groan in slight annoyance was the person standing next to Shigure: Ayame. Before the silver haired boy could duck out of the way, his older brother pulled him into a bone crushing hug.
"Dearest brother, I haven't seen you for 2 days!" he said, but was quickly pushed away by an aggravated Yuki. "How have you been?"
"Until now, perfectly fine," Yuki said sarcastically. Ayame just laughed it off and patted Yuki on the head, as if he were a little child.
"Yuki," Hatori came into view. "Are you still feeling well?" Yuki gave a nod as his answer.
"Sohma-kun!" a few of the Student Counsel members called for him as they stood near one of the booths. "We need your help real quick."
"If you'll excuse me…" Yuki said, and as he walked away, Hatori's voice sounded in a warning way.
"Don't overwork yourself, Yuki."
Yuki, of course, knew better than to do that. He would do a few things here and there, but he wouldn't do too much, as he didn't want to faint and worry Tohru… again. After Yuki finished putting up one of the shelves that fell off in the booth, he decided to go see Tohru, as it was about time for her to be finished. There was a crowd in front of the onigiri booth, and Yuki had to carefully squeeze his way to the back of it. He saw Tohru standing at the side getting ready to leave. With a sneaky smile, Yuki quietly went up next to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Oh!" Tohru said, startled, then she laughed when she saw who had kissed her. "Yuki-kun, you scared me." She gave him a warm smile, which she reserved just for him. "You're not working too hard, are you?" Yuki put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I haven't," he promised, and he remembered the plans. "Now that you're off, do you want to look around for a bit?" Tohru nodded happily and they scooted passed everyone. They walked around the booths hand in hand. The lights that were now on, as the sun started to disappear, illuminated Tohru's face and Yuki felt his heart beat rapidly. He couldn't for the life of him think of why she loved him as he loved her.
The two stopped at a booth with different kinds of little decorations and jewelry. Tohru let out a small gasp and picked up something that was lying in the corner of the booth table. IT was a locket in the shape of a heart with small flowers carved on the front.
"This is so beautiful," Tohru whispered as she held it delicately, as if it would break at any moment. Yuki smiled at her and kissed the top of her head.
"You really like it, hm?" he whispered to her. "It would look even more beautiful on you, though." Tohru met his gentle face with her questioning eyes. "Let me buy this for you."
"Oh, no, I couldn't let you do that!" Tohru said quickly as her cheeks turned red. Yuki laughed and reached into his pocket for some money.
"I insist," he said, and gave the money to the worker before Tohru could protest anymore. "You know, I'll be doing this a lot now. I love you so much."
"I love you too," Tohru said with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. "Thank you so much Yuki-kun, you don't know how much this means to me." She gave him a kiss on the lips and hugged his arm affectionately. Yuki held back a cough so that he wouldn't ruin the moment; he didn't want to be bothered with his curse tonight, not while he was with Tohru.
Kyo finally escaped the crowd of the girls who were ogling at him and threw off all the ribbons. Having Shigure taking pictures of the whole scene made the situation even worse. Now his shift was finally over and he wanted to get as far away from the festival as he could. Kyo decided to take a walk by the edge of the school property to get some fresh air.
Yuki and Tohru walked away from the crowds of people and went by a tree to be alone together. Tohru held the locket in her hands and gave a sigh of happiness.
"You truly are a prince, Yuki-kun," she whispered to him, and he bent down to kiss her passionately. He ran his hand gently through her hair as she wrapped her arms around his neck, yet making sure their bodies didn't touch. Small fireworks went off in the sky, slightly lighting the area around them. Little did they know that a certain orange haired Cat had walked by, stopping in complete shock at the scene he was now witnessing.
Author's Note: I made Shigure wacky, didn't I? Well, he's a wacky character bwahaha! I'm sorry if anything in/about the festival is wrong. I don't know much about this stuff because I'm uneducated like that. Plus, I gave Yuki a break today; made him as healthy as he'll be. Towards the end there's a bunch of Yukiru fluff, isn't there? I read a story where Yuki and Tohru were together… but it turned… different. Why didn't they label it as… yaoi! (cries) I think I'm traumatized. But it did make me write lots of Yukiru, I guess XD. Now to my awesome reviewers!
crimsonsun-rk- Yuki had an easy day, the stuff Hatori gave him really helped him out. If he didn't take it, something would probably happen, yes XD. However, Yuki can't have that good of luck forever. And you're right; the cure is too easy mwahaha
Yukyoru- I hope I put in enough Yukiru! There was going to be more but I was afraid that I'd make this chapter too long. But this isn't the end, so be prepared for Yukiru cuteness
yvonne- thank you so much! Sorry for the wait; I will try to update as soon as I can!
kishe- I hope you liked this chapter because it's longer, so I did write more! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible.
Sakura A. Moon- Hope you liked the Yukiruness! There's going to be more, too XD! And I'm sorry for not updating right away (cries like Shigure)
Steff7- Yes, I know what you mean. If the chapters good, it's worth waiting for. Thtanks for the comment!
Catherine b- Thanks so much! Yes, Kyo beating Yuki… very high stakes there. But you never know, miracles happen, maybe he'll get one XD
MegTao- Shishou will try his hardest. He's just too awesome to fail! Now, Kyo getting into the Zodiac… who knows, yet XP
Yugata Tenshi- Yes, it really is hard to update, but at least this chapter is long! And I will read your Fruits Basket fanfic as soon as I can (has much to do but will read it asap!)
Tochi Kitsune Moga- It's not crap, don't worry XD It's a good idea! But I think they might have killed each other during the practice if they were to get annoyed with the other. Plus, Kyo's too proud to let Yuki teach him lol.
Maple Chan- Thanks so much for your review! I hope you liked this chapter; it's longer then the last XP
white-rosekiss- Thanks so much! I'm sorry I didn't update sooner, but it's a long chapter full of Yukiru romance! I hope you liked it!
sai-chan- They were in support of Yuki/Machi? (eyes widen) What is the Fruits Basket world thinking? (starts getting teary eyed) Yuki should be with Tohru! Machi's no use in Fruits Basket, indeed! Well, thanks soo much for the review!
Until the next
TBC
