Chapter 6: The End of the Beginning
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AN: Um, in response to those wonderful souls that have been giving me reviews for each and every chapter I have...well, I wont say slaved away on...but that I have put out, thank you. You all are the people that keep these fingers clacking away at the keyboard.
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"Honda Tohru, I beg you, it's time to come home."
She was out the front door and down the stairs in no time.
She left so fast, she forgot to make sure she had something very important with her.
Something that rested on the floor in the closet beside her bed.
The amulet.
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Yuki sat stiffly, pretending to ignore the cries from the girls outside. How his fanclub had tracked his family there was beyond him, but he knew he could live with it as long as he saw Tohru again.
He glanced across the car at Akito. "Do you think she saw it?"
"She has a Television, doesn't she." He said, looking incredibly bored. "Then she saw it."
Yuki wasn't so sure. He sighed as they stopped at a stop light. "Maybe I should have gone to her...told her that it was okay for her to come home-"
Hatori slammed his foot on the brakes to avoid hitting the girl who had just run directly in front of their car. "SHIT!"
Yuki looked up, and his eyes widened. It was Hanajima. He jumped out of the car, running towards her. "Hanajima-san!" He asked, visually checking her over. "Are you okay!"
"I misread her reading!" She gasped. Her face was pale. "I'm not getting an answer at her grandfather's home!" She shook him. "Yuki, if we don't hurry, something very very bad is going to happen to Tohru!"
Like Yuki needed to hear anything else. He turned to the car. "I'm going to Tohru's. Don't try to stop me."
Hatori glanced back at the head of the family, who merely nodded. "I think I shall pay a visit to my sister..." He said, then rolled up the window.
Yuki and Hanajima ran down the street, while he quickly dialed Uotani's number. "Uotani-san!"
"Uwhat!" She drawled into the phone. "Yuki-ouji-sama?"
"STOP THAT!" He snapped. "I just ran into Hanajima-san. She said Tohru's in trouble!"
Silence. "I was there ten minutes ago."
When the phone beeped, he threw it behind him to the psychotic fangirls chasing after him. He reached the house, and drug Hanajima up the stairs to the front door. He began pressing the doorbell frantically.
Her cousin answered the door. "Wha-!"
Yuki pushed into the house, immediately looking for Tohru. "Tohru! Tohru, where are you!"
Hanajima frowned. "She's not here..." She walked towards a small closet and threw it open. A soft cry escaped her as she knelt on the ground. The amulet! She picked it up, and a tear fell down her face. "Am I too late!" She wondered.
"Get the hell out of here, you freaks!"
Yuki glanced towards Hanajima, then at the boy. He took two steps towards him, then hit him in the face. "Shut the hell up!" He snarled, then saw her grandfather step out. "Where's Tohru?" He whispered, his heart throbbing.
Her grandfather gave a small smile. "I believe she ran out to find you, sir." He bowed. "She probably hasn't gone far. She only left a few minutes ago."
Yuki and Hanajima looked at each other, nodding. They ran into Uotani as they left. She didn't say a word, just fell into step behind them.
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Tohru resurfaced from the blackness slowly. The last thing she remembered was a hand hitting her firmly in the back of the neck. She slowly opened her eyes, holding her head. "Ite..."
"Stupid girl."
She sat upright and saw Yuki's mother glaring at her. She hugged herself, backing away slightly. "Where am I?" She asked, looking at the woman. Behind her was another girl, who she recognized from school. "Motoko-san?"
The girl snorted. "Shut up, you dumb rat."
Tohru froze. She looked down, realizing she was once again tiny and furred. "Why are you two doing this to me!"
"I had no idea anyone else wished you ill will till I saw her kidnap you." Motoko shrugged. "I just want to drive a wedge between you and Yuki. You don't deserve him. He's special."
"He's a freak." The boy's mother said firmly, her eyes narrowed. "I don't ever want to see one of those disgusting smiles on his face. I want to destroy his happiness."
Tohru realized with a sinking feeling that these two, while working seperately had ultimately assisted in each others final goals. Her out of the way. "But the secret has already been revealed, how are you two going to stop him and I from seeing each other!" She had to stay strong! They would find her!
"By killing you, of course."
They answered in unison. Yuki's mother stood, walking towards her, holding a knife. Motoko grabbed her, holding her tightly in her hands.
She couldn't breath. She gasped, as the armed woman approacked and she knew her only way out of this was to take advantage of the one weapon she still had. She opened her mouth, a mouth that only ever said gentle things, and bit Motoko's hand as hard as she could.
Motoko screamed, releasing her.
Tohru hit the ground running. They weren't going to get their hands on her again.
Tohru made it out the front door, down the steps, and promptly disappeared into the bushes. She continued running as fast as she could. She gasped for breath, hearing them chasing after her. When she hit the forest, she watched the pair split up and silently gave a prayer for Yuki to find her. To save her.
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"Are you SURE!"
Shigure sniffed the air frowning. "I know how it sounds, okay, but it came from a reliable source."
The older generation, which included Akito, Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure stood in front of the abandoned house, wearing disbelieving expressions. "Shigure..."
"Hey!" Yuki ran up. Behind him were all the younger Sohma's, as well as Tohru's two best friends. "You guys are here, too?" He glanced towards Hanajima, who was looking at the forest. "Is she near, Hanajima-san?"
"I'm picking up her waves, but they're weak." She tilted her head to the side. "That one card...The reversed lovers card...it didn't represent the same person as the Queen of Swords...They're two seperate people..." She looked at Yuki. "The ace of swords...her challenge is about to begin."
Everyone stared at her wearing strange expressions.
She blinked at them.
Everyone sighed, shaking their heads. "So, what's the plan?" Kagura asked, clinging to Kyo's arm.
Ayame looked at the younger kids. "We're going after mom." They looked at Yuki. "You should stay here."
Yuki snorted.
Kyo nodded. "The rest of us can look for Tohru." He saw Hanajima tilting her head to the side. "What, wierdo?"
She looked at him. "You and the others should go that way." She pointed into the back part of the forest. "The other one is looking for Tohru in that direction. Yuki and I will track Tohru from her vibes."
Kyo frowned, but nodded. "Alright. We'll meet back here then?"
Yuki watched as everyone walked into the forest, then glanced back at Hanajima. "Hey, why didn't we go with the others?"
"Do you love Tohru-chan?" She asked evenly, looking at him in the eye. "Don't bother lying, I'll know if you are."
He blushed furiously. "Do we have to do this now!"
She nodded. She dangled the amulet in front of him and looked directly at him. "She ran off without this, she's in danger. You should probably answer me quickly."
He turned away from her, his hands fisted. He blinked in shock when he felt Hanajima place something around his neck. He looked down and saw the amulet and blinked, looking towards her. "Doushite?"
Hanajima merely smiled secretively. "Let's go find our friend, shall we?"
"What about my answer?"
The pair began walking into the forest, and Yuki was staring down at the amulet. He sighed heavily.
"I'm not that worried about your answer. Sometimes, it's the actions that speak louder. Besides, the voice in your head is screaming it."
Yuki blushed.
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Tohru hid in the bushes, watching as Motoko passed her by. She scrambled from them, and up into a tree. She could hear her shouting out to her.
"Stupid girl, you're a mouse now. How could any boy love a rat! You aren't anything but a disgusting animal now!"
Tohru felt an ache in her heart. Could that be true? Would Yuki not like her anymore, now that she was an animal. The words hurt her a lot, but she tried to ignore them. She had to escape!
"HAH! FOUND YOU!" The girl started shaking the tree furiously. "COME DOWN HERE, YOU RAT!"
As Tohru watched, Yuki's mother almost arrived, and she clung to the tree for dear life. "IIE! STOP IT!" She cried.
Then, hands were trying to pull the pair away from the tree. Tohru saw the Sohma's. All of them. Except for Yuki. Tears filled her eyes.
Her claws lost their grip in the bark and she felt herself beginning to fall. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the ground to make her go splat.
It didn't.
Instead, two warm arms wrapped around her, catching her as she fell. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into beautiful violet eyes. "Yuki-kun?"
POOF!
Yuki expected to feel himself change.
That didn't happen.
Instead, all of a sudden, his arms were full of girl, for the first time in his life, he was holding someone. He flushed brightly, as the girl in his arms was completely stark naked.
Hanajima silently removed her cloke, wrapping it around the startled girl.
Tohru stared up at Yuki, her face flushed brightly. He came for her. He tried to protect her. His arms were wrapped gently around her waist, and he was staring at her. Was she still a mouse? If she was, what was that awful draft? She glanced down and turned an even brighter shade of red. She pulled away, wrapping the cloak tighter around her body. She looked up at Yuki, who still looked striken.
He looked at her, as if seeing her for the first time all over again. I hugged her...he realized. But I'm still me, and she's...He grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling her close again and hugged her tightly.
They waited for nearly a minute, waiting for what should have been inevitable.
Nothing happened.
Yuki wanted to laugh, to cry, to do something, but he couldn't think of what to do, so he just pulled her closer, resting his head against her shoulder.
"Hey...wait a minute..." Ayame stared at them. "Shouldn't one of them have transformed?"
Hanajima smiled wider. So she was right. The amulet was absorbing the magic from the curse when they hugged. She looked at Uotani and saw she was looking at her with a suspicious expression. She blinked innocently. "What?"
"What did you do to that boy?"
"Nothing." She said honestly. "He's just wearing an amulet."
Yuki reached down, looking at the amulet. He turned it over and saw the kanji for rat inscribed into the back. He almost facefaulted. Of course. That would explain why Tohru had changed back when she touched him. But then...why hadn't he changed himself...unless...He paused, raising his eyes to Hanajima.
She arched an eyebrow, nodding.
"Hanajima-san..." he said, exasperated. "How long have you had these things? How long have you actually known the truth?"
She smiled a bit. "Why, since you came to our school of course." She said, beginning to walk past them. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a handful of amulets. "That's the only free one. I gave it to Tohru, since she is my best friend." She looked at the others, who were gaping at her. "The rest can be purchased...for five dollars a piece."
Everyone gaped at her. "WHAT!"
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Tohru returned to school the next day. Everyone was talking excitedly before she and her friends walked into the room. When they entered, a hush fell over them. They all looked at Yuki and Kyo with wide eyes. Then, their eyes went to Tohru, who was smiling as she walked to her seat.
"Uwah! I'm jealous!" One of the girls whispered to another. "To have a guy expose a secret like that for me! It's so romantic!"
One girl went over towards Yuki, blushing furiously. "Ano, Sohma-kun...is it okay if I see your curse?"
Yuki blinked in surprise. He glanced towards Tohru, who was smiling brightly at him. He sighed, reaching up, taking the amulet off and handing it to her. "Very well." He said.
Everyone in the room stared in shock. He had agreed!
Tohru watched the girl hug him and the normal occurance happened. Yuki disappeared into a puff of smoke and all that was left was the small white rat with purple eyes. Girls suddenly surrounded him, giggling and talking about how cute he was. Then their eyes went to Kyo, who suddenly felt very nervous.
Tohru smiled, gently lifting Yuki from the desk. She scooped up his clothing, walking with him down the hall. She reached the boy's locker room and set his clothing on the sink just inside the door. "Come out when you're done, okay?" She kissed the top of his head and smiled brilliantly at him.
Everyone who walked past just kind of shrugged. They had seen the news articles, and tv reports about the Sohma family. It wasn't that strange to them. After all, wierder things could happen.
He nodded, disappearing into the bathroom.
About five minutes later, he emerged, and kind of looked embarassed. He handed her his tie, and she giggled, wrapping it around his neck and tying it carefully. Then, she put the amulet over his neck, pressed herself onto her toes and kissed his cheek.
He smiled a bit, tilting his head to the side. "Are you sure you don't mind?" He asked softly. "I mean, everyone probably thinks we're a little strange."
She smiled at him brightly. "Well, what do you know, I've always been a little strange anyways, so it's okay. Besides..." She looked down at the floor, blushing. "As long as Yuki-kun has no objections, then neither do I..."
"Oh, come on, you two!" Uotani hissed from the corner. Hanajima was right behind her, both were watching the two with distinct interest.
He smiled at her shyness. He gently scooped up her hand, placing a gentle kiss on it. "Honda-san, would you do me the honor of being my first and last girlfriend?" He asked, watching her face become covered with a sweet blush.
"Why, Yuki-kun, I would love to." She said softly, smiling up at him. She closed her eyes when he leaned down, kissing her softly on the lips.
"HELP ME!"
The two broke apart to see the other Sohma's running down the hall past them, most of the school population chasing after them. Momiji was smiling cheerfully, Kyo looked like if he turned any redder, he'd match his hair, and Hatsuharu looked only moments away from going black on all of them.
Tohru laughed softly.
But for the first time, every last one of them were relaxed. Yuki put his arm around her shoulder, holding her against his side gently. Besides, it wasn't a big deal anymore.
Sharing the secret...had only made each one of them stronger. And no one seemed disgusted by it. They only seemed curious. And from that curiousity, surely more, stronger friendships would form for the family, and each would be able to pursue the person they chose because of Hanajima's charms.
Looked like even this strange fruits basket of people could have a happy ending after all...even with an onigiri holding it all together.
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OWARI!
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AN: Well, now that that's done...okay, hope you all aren't too disappointed. It's just...They always have the fics where true love is what ends the curse...but if you look at Hatori, he was in love with Kana, but the curse didn't end for him, so I doubt that would work for any of the rest. I picked the best way out that I could. I hope you enjoyed my story, and until next time, ADIOS!