Chapter Four

"Tohru! Kyo's picking on me!"

Across the table, that stupid cat was digging his fist into the top of Momiji's blond head, and the younger boy was crying his eyes out, desperately trying to crawl away from Kyo and into the safety of Tohru's arms. Someone's leg flailed out and kicked the table. My dinner practically slid onto the floor.

"K-Kyo, don't you think you should be gentler?" Tohru exclaimed, unsuccessfully trying to put an end to the sudden skirmish.

"No! He's getting what he deserves!" I clenched my fists around my chopsticks. Why did that stupid cat have to be so loud? Didn't he see that everyone was trying to eat?

It was later the same day of my accidental 'kiss' with Haru. I hadn't talked to him since then, even though I had gotten plenty of chances. At lunch, he sat across from me on the roof, and he had also been behind me while everyone was walking home. And even now I had a chance to make amends. When Tohru had invited Momiji for dinner earlier, Haru had been asked to come as well. Now he was sitting right beside me, aimlessly picking at his fish. He looked so hopeless.

But what am I suppose to say to him?

"Yuki, watch out!" Tohru's sudden shout brought me out of my thoughts, and I turned my attention back to the table…just in time to knock away a bowl of rice that had been flying towards my face.

"Stupid cat, what are you doing?" I hissed, glaring at Kyo from under my bangs.

"Why the hell are you blaming me, you damn rat!? It's that brat's fault for ducking when I threw it at him!" Kyo leaped up from the table into a defensive position, readying himself for a fight. I watched his chopsticks splinter in his fist.

"Um. Yuki, Kyo, let's not tear up my house, okay?" I ignored Shigure's chuckle, and mimicked Kyo's stance. Even Tohru's sudden panicked pleas for us to stop fell on deaf ears. My day had been awful. I needed someone to take it out on.

"That's it, you stupid cat."

"Bring it on, rat boy!" He laughed confidently, and then the next few moments were a blur of punches, kicks, and hasty dodges. I was surprised when Kyo managed to block my first several attacks, but my foot found itself under his chin soon enough. Tohru gasped as he collided with the front door and then went sailing right through it. Shigure sobbed somewhere off to the side.

"Kyo! Are you alright!?" Tohru cried, flinging herself after Kyo. Momiji got up to follow her curiously, and I watched them stumble through the remainder of the front door.

A minute later, Momiji's gleeful voice rang out. "It's snowing! It's snowing!" And then, as if to prove my younger cousin's point, a sudden gust of wind blew away the remnants of the broken door. Tohru, Momiji, and Kyo were revealed, and they were framed by a brilliant white. The white was snow…snow that reached almost to the roof. My mouth dropped open.

"It's not just snowing! It's a damn blizzard!" I had to agree with Kyo this time.

"Well, will you look at that!" Shigure exclaimed with a laugh, completely unfazed by a mountain of ice suddenly surrounding his house. He pushed himself up from the table and began heading for his office. "I suppose Haru and Momiji will just have to spend the night here! I'll just call Ha'ri and tell him."

Wait…what did he just say? Haru obviously felt the same concern, because his head snapped up to frown at Shigure's retreating back.

I wanted to go after Shigure and protest…tell him that it was impossible for Haru to stay any longer. I didn't care if the snow was two times higher than the house. Even if he stayed in another room, even if I didn't see him for the rest of the evening, he just couldn't stay. I would go crazy knowing he was so close.

"It's settled than!" Tohru's voice shook me from my thoughts, and I turned around to see what she was talking about. I noticed Haru out of the corner of my eye. He looked even more distressed than he had a moment ago.

What did I miss?

"Yeah!" Momiji vigorously nodded his head at Tohru, agreeing with what she had just said. "I'll sleep with mean Kyo-"

"Hey! Watch it!"

Momiji chose to ignore the stupid cat's sudden outburst and continue. What he said however, made me wish Kyo had screamed forever. "And Haru can sleep with Yuki!"

I had been uncomfortable many times in my life. Whenever someone was speaking to the Prince I felt a bit of unease, and I was also on edge every time I transformed. Then there were the times when Akito would lean over me, dark eyes flashing maliciously. Those times were awful.

But never in my life had I ever been as uncomfortable as I was that night. The silence was deafening, as I watched Haru. I was sitting in my desk chair, and he was on the floor, making a bed for himself. His back was turned to me, and I could tell he was tense. I wanted to reach my hand out and somehow help him relax.

But what am I suppose to say to him?

The Prince was so good with words. However, the only thing I could think to say to Haru was a simple apology. But that wasn't enough, I knew. Haru deserved more. He deserved a lot more.

But a simple apology is all I can give him…

"H-Haru?" I could barely hear my whisper over my pounding heart.

Haru looked up from assembling his bed. He didn't look surprised that I had spoken. He looked annoyed. I shifted uneasily under his icy gaze.

"I'm sorry." I had hoped he would show some sign of forgiveness or at least a smile, but neither of those things appeared on his face. His irritated expression simply melted into a sad one. He turned back to his bed without speaking a word. I felt my throat clench.

The room was silent again. Unbearably silent. Seconds bled into minutes. "Haru, please, say something."

"What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to say…" I didn't know. He somehow always knew just what I wanted to hear, and I wanted him to forgive me with those perfect words. "…that it's okay."

"That what's okay? That you hurt me or that you're selfish?" I flinched.

"I'm sorry I'm selfish." I whispered honestly. "But I really want to be a part of the outside world. You must understand that. I'm tired of living in this…cage." He had to understand that…he understood me.

My heart fell when Haru's response was spoken in the same bitter voice he had been using the entire conversation. Apparently he didn't care to understand anything. "So what you want me to say is that it's okay for you to sacrifice the people who love you for some strangers?"

"That's not it!" I rushed. Why couldn't he see that earlier had been a mistake? "I just want to be normal. That's what I want you to say is okay…"

Haru suddenly abandoned his spot beside his bed. I held my breath as he moved to lean over me, his hands resting on my chair's arms. His familiar gray eyes were flashing with anger. "You know what's okay? Who you really are, Yuki. So what if other people aren't cursed? There are other strict families out there, and everyone knows pain. If you don't have scars on your heart, than you're not human. And that's what you're trying to prove, isn't it, Yuki? That you're human, too?"

I stared at him with wide eyes. Was I trying to prove my humanity? I had never thought about it.

"I…don't know." I said weakly, shrinking away from his angry eyes.

"Why do you think those people in the outside world can heal you? What can they do for you, Yuki?" He continued, ignoring my uncertainty. I couldn't remember ever seeing him so serious. "They only know the Prince."

I sat there in silence a few moments, hoping that he would give up. Hoping that he would stop asking questions that challenged the reasoning I had been following for so long. But his angry eyes were also determined ones. I sighed in defeat. "They accept the Prince."

"The Prince isn't you." Haru protested.

"No." I agreed, looking away. "But they would never accept me…no one would."

He touched my face softly and frowned. "I accept you, Yuki."

I batted his hand away. "Then you must not know me as well as I thought you did."

Haru's frown transformed into an amused smile. "I do." His hand that I had swatted away returned, and it tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "And even if I didn't, I would gladly learn about you."

His fingertips briefly touched my cheek, as he pulled his hand away. Then he too pulled away, leaving me to my thoughts. Once more, the room was silent.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket nor any of it's wonderful characters. I do, however, own the plot of this story. Aren't I special? xD

AN: As always, I have to thank Odango43938 for taking the time to correct any mistakes I made. However, the person who really helped me out this chapter was SakuraBubbles. Without her, I couldn't have finished this at all! Lol.

Sagi-chan, I love reviews like yours. They're very encouraging! I hope everyone was in-character this chapter as well.

lymerai, I think the reason Haru seemed so inanimate last chapter was because I spent too much time on Yuki's thoughts. I'm sorry!

Bass Star Cardians Webmis, thank you for the review!

blu-rain, your review made me so happy! When I first began writing this fic, my objective was to create a story about how Yuki seemed to have two different personalities : Himself and the Prince. Like how Haru was both White Haru and Black Haru, you know? But then about halfway through the second chapter, the story just began writing itself, and I strayed a little from my goal. Lol. But I'm glad you noticed how I tried to separate the two personalities.

ruji, I plan to keep writing until the very end! xD

Peter James, I've never written romantic physical interactions between two characters, so it's very heartening to hear that you enjoyed the closeness Yuki and Haru shared the last chapter!

SSC-backwards, I'm glad you enjoy my writing so much! I hope you thought this chapter was just as good.

Tokenblackchick, ::huggles back::

And to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, thank you very much!

The fifth and final (Yes, as in the last one. Lol.) chapter of Feel will be posted next Tuesday!

Thanks for reading!

- Jessiegurl43953