DISCLAIMER: I don't own Furuba. (As far as copyrights go. I have 3 books.) so all the characters and some references to the actual manga in this fic belong to Natsuki Takaya.
Chapter 3: Not As it Should Be
In the early morning light, Yuki's eyes opened subconsciously. He rubbed the crusty sleep from them (Yes, even the flawless Prince Yuki has eye gookies.) and managed to adjust to the brightly lighted room. The sun glowed upon his stirring form as he got up. Everything came mechanically this early in the morning.
Yuki stumbled downstairs, and was greeted by the smell of Tohru's cooking. He followed it into the kitchen, and like a missile, found Tohru. He rested his head on her shoulder and nuzzled her. Tohru gave a surprised squeak as tiny shivers went up her spine. "Oh! Yuki-kun, it's only you! You scared me!" She giggled, "Good Morning!"
"Ah, don't even bother talking to him. He's still asleep at this hour." Kyou said, watching the pair with a sort of disgust as he got milk from the fridge. "Oh! Good Morning to you as well, Kyou-kun! Um..." she looked around. "Where's Shigure?" She wondered aloud. Yuki, who was somehow miraculously brought back from the far reaches of the universe, simply answered, "He went out early to get something. He said he'd be back for breakfast."
His theory was proven by the sound of the front door opening. "I'm Hoooh-ooooomme!" Shigure said in his annoying sing-song voice. "Just in time for our beloved flower's home-cooked meal." Pleased with his impeccable timing, he sat down to read the newspaper. "So...where were you, Shigure?" Tohru asked, "Um! As long as it isn't something secret! You don't have to answer me if it makes you uncomfortable or if it's none of my business! Eh?" She panicked, hoping she wasn't being rude.
"Well, if you must know..." Shigure looked seductively at her, but before he could finish his innuendo, he received a swift knock on the head. "Shut up. You don't speak to her like that, ya damn perv!" Kyou shouted. "Talk to her normally!"
"Ouch. That hurt." Shigure mournfully rubbed the pink lump on his head. "Stupid Cat. You should know that he's vulgar to anyone. Normal for him is that perverted yipping he does." Yuki snapped. Already they were annoying him. He frowned, and Tohru felt the tension bursting.
"It's none of your damn business, rat-boy!" Kyou retorted. He hated how Yuki could act so high-and-mighty about everything. "Just shut up until you know what you're talking about! Shigure giving Tohru crap isn't of your concern."
"Actually, it is. Don't forget whose girlfriend you're talking about. Stupid cat. Baka neko." Yuki loved pointing this out. Tohru blushed profusely. He had never admitted blatantly that he was going out with her. But he had gone too far. "Tohru...isn't your property. You'll NEVER own her." Kyou's crimson eyes burned, and Yuki's violet ones flashed in response to the death glare. They got to their feet, and Tohru intervened. "NO! I won't have you two fighting over me! Please you must stop fighting!" Tohru babbled in her panic. She waved the knife in her hand like it was a flag. "Tohru, I think you need to calm down..." Shigure said upon seeing the cat & mouse's frightened looks.
"Tohru-san ... put it down ..." Yuki stepped over and removed the weapon from her hand. He held her hand gently. "I'll promise to stop. For now, let's just get to school." They left, Kyou following a millisecond later. But he kept a respectful distance, out of hearing range. He was so left out now that they were together. He hated it.
"Tohru-san, wait for me after school, 'kay? I have a brief meeting with student council and it will only take a few minutes. Meet me outside the door...where the hallways intersect." She nodded. He grabbed her hand, and smiled. She squeezed it and smiled back.
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"You're going out with WHO!" Arisa was so surprised at Tohru's announcement that she almost fell out of her seat. "It isn't that surprising, Arisa..." Saki said calmly. "But The Prince Yuki Fan Club will be out for her BLOOD!" Arisa screamed. "Yes, we must protect her..." Saki's eyes flashed threateningly. "Tohru, you must be careful...if they or Yuki do anything to you, we want to know immediately." They exchanged a meaningful glance, touching their fingers together. A bead of sweat formed on Tohru's head.
"Um...I'm sure that won't happen..." Tohru fumbled, becoming a little conscious of her friends making a scene. "So...how's Orange Top taking it?" Uo-chan questioned suspiciously.
"Better than I expected! He's become more of a brother to me...and he accepts that..." Tohru chirped happily, hiding her worry for Kyou. 'He still gets jealous of Yuki, though. Mom, does he really accept it like I think he does?' "I got to go! See you!" She left quickly.
"I'm still not sure about her dating that boy. He has insides churning with chaos, and still has not found himself." Hana-chan wore a look of placid worry. 'He is trying to find something that can't be found by himself.' "Yea, but she does soften him. He's much less snooty than before. Less...preoccupied." Arisa pointed out. Saki smiled. "That is comforting. Even now I sense she is healing his bad spots..." she drifted off.
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Tohru waited in the silent hallway. She had been doing so for the past 15 minutes, but was not impatient. She drifted into thought. 'Me and Yuki should do something together. It never seems like we're even speaking. Nothing has changed between us...' It was a sunny day, and she was enjoying its warmth streaming in on her, when it was blocked by shadow.
"Tohru Honda, you are a witch. How dare you...How DARE you?" She knew immediately that it was Motoko Minagawa-san, but turned around anyway, and the reps of the PYFC ambushed her. They quickly had her bound and gagged, and dragged her back to their "room" down the hall.
The room was really just a classroom that was rarely used, but it was full of items that made it look like a gift shop, only creepier. Yuki clips, hats, pins, masks, cups and cookie jars were lined up neatly in back. Tohru wondered if anyone actually knew their level of obsession. But her thoughts were interrupted by the knock of a gavel as the meeting was brought to order. There was a role call, and then the rules were recited and written on the chalkboard:
You many never enter the Prince's house.
You may never touch the Prince's belongings.
You may only speak to the Prince when accompanied by at least two other members.
Address him as follows:
3rd /4th years- Yuki 2nd years- Prince Yuki
1st years- Prince Yuki Sohma
"The trial of Tohru Honda has now come to order. Will the defendant come forward." Motoko ordered a rep to remove Tohru's binds, and another to rip the duct tape from her mouth. She whimpered at the pain. "Why are you going out with the Prince?" They questioned.
"He asked me. He said he's always liked me, but we've been good friends up until then." Tohru whispered, "I turned him down at first..." They gasped at what she had just said. 'How dare she turn down the Prince? She plays mind games and leaves him upset!' "And...why were you such good friends?" Tohru bit her lip. She would never tell them her personal memories involving the Sohma curse, or the things Yuki had confided in her. "I..I can't tell you that." She mumbled.
"You must! You are on trial, Tohru Honda!" Motoko snapped, and continued, "Because of your selfish ways..." She got up, and the reps moved closer to Tohru, trying to intimidate her.
"But... nobody can help being selfish sometimes. We are born with an instinct to want. And some..." Tohru paused to look at the girls pointedly, "some of us never stop. But what good is wanting something so hard that you only push it away? Why would you want to torture yourselves with a longing for something you can't have?" Tohru questioned to herself, and the girls were hypnotized by her sermon. "Huh?" They managed to squeak angrily. Tohru went on. "What I'm saying is, once you have Yuki, you can stop wanting. But you have put him up on such a high shelf of worship that you can no longer reach him to get him back down again. He's too high of status for anyone in your eyes. He's too far for you to appreciate his flaws as much as his qualities. You can't see the things that make him Yuki, and although you worship him as perfect, you lost what makes him who he is." Tohru looked up from her lap to make eye contact with the four shocked statues of the PYFC. She was right. "That's not how it should be." She said, shaking her head.
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Yuki had begun to worry as to where Tohru was. He knew she hadn't gone home, because at the promised meeting place, right at his feet, was her backpack. He searched the classrooms...all empty. But he heard muffled talking, and followed it. He found the source, but stopped at the door to listen and watch through the window in the door. Motoko was standing on a chair, looking frightened. She pointed at Tohru. "You...you witch. Tohru Honda, how dare you lecture us! How could you possibly go on like that, when you don't even know about us? You'll be sorry! Punished!" She shrieked. The fan club reps surrounded Tohru.
"NO!" Yuki burst into the classroom. Tohru watched in silent awe at his intensity. Her eyes were full to the brim with tears. His slate gray hair whipped about his face with the wind from the sudden motion. His violet eyes flashed with stern anger and concern for her.
"Prince...Yuki-sama..." The fan club recoiled from Tohru, slowly shrinking away from her chair. Yuki stepped protectively in front of her. "You will not hurt Tohru-san! Or any other student, for that matter! What were you thinking?" He searched their frightened faces, and found Motoko's. His eyes got even scarier. "Minagawa-san, I'm especially disappointed with you, leading these younger girls into this." She was on the verge of tears. "Buh-but Prince Yuki!" She blubbered, but to no avail. She cried, but no one made a move to comfort her.
Yuki took the opportunity to look around the room. It was...it was scary. It was that kind of sick obsession that would make Ayame's day. The fierce anger was overcome by embarrassment. "W-what is all...of this?" He choked out, turning red. Tohru was the only one who could answer. "I think this is where your fan club meets, Yuki. They really do like you...it's like a shrine..." she mumbled, taking in the fan club reps' embarrassment. The Prince moved to the shelves, touching the clingies, the postcards, the T-shirts and hats. 'Where did they get this? It's officially creepy...that they've been stalking me. It's...It's...' "It's got to go." He said finally. He suddenly felt a little sorry for them. "All of it has got to stop, okay?" He looked to them, and his cheeks turned rosy. "Look, I know you all really like me and all, but I don't feel comfortable having a fan club. It's weird." He said flatly. He could tell that the reps really didn't want to hear him say this, but it was the only way they'd listen. "I can't say that I feel the same way. Tohru-san is special to me. You can't keep chasing people away from me. It just isn't necessary." They looked mortified, but they snuck a death glare towards Tohru. They solemnly nodded like bobble heads. Motoko mustered up enough courage to finally speak. "But why, Yuki? Why her?" Motoko's eyes glanced over Tohru, and she wrinkled her nose as if the air had suddenly become rotten. "Yuki..." Tohru didn't want to give these girls information. She protested with the look on her face.
Yuki sighed. "No, they should probably know." 'This is the only way that they'll stop harassing you.' He took a deep breath, prepared to tell them enough without telling the curse story. "Tohru needed somewhere to stay while her grandfather's house was being redone. You see, she's an orphan, but took the responsibility of living by herself in a tent in the woods." The girls looked at Tohru with a new pity, and she looked at her feet, embarrassed by her past. Yuki continued, "Me, Kyou and my older cousin live in a house near there, and found her. She was sick, so we took her in about 3 years ago. She decided to stay with us as a housekeeper even after the renovations were done...permanently." He finished. The girls looked sullen, but put on a fake face of defeat, and said, "Okay, we'll stop. You're right, Prince Yuki-san. It shouldn't be this way." Motoko smiled weakly, but with a new understanding. 'No. I hate to admit it, but they're right. But I won't give up that easily. Perhaps we should lie low for a while, but it's obvious that the witch has already used her evil spells on Yuki. I won't give up...not when he needs me more than ever.'
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Yuki and Tohru walked home together, hand in hand. But there was a silence. Finally, Tohru broke it. "Yuki...maybe this isn't such a good idea. Maybe we...maybe we shouldn't date." She whispered, pained by her own words. Yuki turned to her, shock in his eyes. "If that was the fan club's reaction, imagine Akito's when he finds out. My memory will eventually get erased. I just know it." She sobbed.
"I can't believe it. Does the almighty Tohru actually doubt herself?" Yuki said, but he wasn't joking around. "Tohru, don't be so afraid of Akito. He may be sneaky...and cruel...he tortured me for my entire childhood. But Akito doesn't think ahead. He doesn't expect many of the things we may do. And last time, I know you changed him...just a little. Just be yourself, Tohru, and you have nothing to fear." He smiled, and she looked up at him as he finished. "And even if it doesn't change anything -- even if your memory is erased nonetheless – I'll find you, Tohru. I'll find you, and I'll help you create new memories. I'll bring you back." He promised, and his eyes said that he meant it. He kissed her, told her that he would die for her. And a certain cat watched the scene from the roof, and could only worry about them. His role in Tohru's life would be taken over, and he knew it.