Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. Takaya got to it before me, so therefore she owns it… :grumble grumble:

Tohru walked into the silence of the woods during her walk home from school. Yuki was at the meeting he had talked briefly about during morning breakfast, and Kyo was at the dojo. Don't forget to stop by and see him practicing, Tohru reminded herself. Tohru knew that her time with Kyo was getting shorter and shorter, and she had made her mind up to spend as much time as possible being with him.

I'm so selfish…for wanting him to stay here with me… Tohru felt her chest constrict and her eyes began to water. Mom, I'm so sorry…

Yuki laughed happily, Manabe and Kimi laughing soundly next to him. Machi walked silently next to Manabe, a smile playing on the corners of her mouth. Yuki glanced at her, careful to make sure that Manabe didn't really notice, and felt elated that the joke he had said caused the corners of her mouth to twitch slightly. She was a puzzle that he was going to crack; a person that he was going to reach and hopefully heal, the way that Tohru had helped heal him. The only problem was…

It's not like she'd ever date me… even if she could.

Yuki turned his head so that he wasn't looking at Machi any longer. Manabe hadn't caught on and he aimed to keep it that way. He was pretty weird about Yuki paying attention to Machi, and it always confused Yuki when Manabe would throw a fit.

Looking up at the sky, he found himself wondering about Tohru, and how Kyo's imprisonment would affect her. He was already surprised at how it was affecting his own self, bewilderment echoing through him at the thought of actually caring for that beast. He was born to be hated. So why did he feel sorry for Kyo?

"Yuki, what are you thinking about?"

Yuki looked over at Kimi. "Nothing really. Why?"

"You had a very sad look on your face," she said softly. "Did you want to tell your Kimi what you were thinking about that was so sad?"

Yuki felt a little piqued. She was most definitely not his Kimi. "Well, I—"

"He was thinking about Graduation and how it's going to be so sad to lose all those fangirls," Manabe interrupted, his face set in stone.

Yuki glared at Manabe. "Actually, no I wasn't. I was thinking about—"

Manabe waved Yuki's admission away with his hand. "It's all right. We're your friends; you don't have to hide the truth from us." Manabe put an arm around Yuki's shoulder.

Kimi nodded her head with a bright smile. "I agree. You don't need to hide things from us! We'll always accept your strangeness! Machi feels the same way too."

Yuki felt his soul give a lurch. He felt lighter than he had in his whole life, as if a breeze was filtering through his body and slowly prying a dark cloud from his soul…

But it crashed with one thought: They would never accept the real me; the me that they can't ever see. Tohru was the only one who had accepted him in that form outside the inner family, but he knew that she was a dime in a dozen. Manabe, Kimi and Machi might be his friends, but they'd never truly accept the real him; the real Yuki.

"You really shouldn't answer for Machi, especially since she never said anything of the sort," Yuki replied, sending Manabe and Kimi into a rant of various proportions.

Yuki looked over at Machi. She was staring at the ground, walking as if she didn't hear what was being said around her. Yuki sighed inwardly.

They really are my friends. But they'd never really accept the other me.

Kyo hit the block in front of him with a focused force, causing it to split evenly.

"Good job, Kyo! You're getting really good at focusing your strength," his partner praised, giving Kyo's ego a slight boost.

His body felt wonderful being used in such a manner; working out at the dojo always made him feel at home, and an ease filled his body and made him relax like he never could anywhere else.

"Wow! That cute girl is back! She sure does seem to like watching you!"

The ease left his body and anticipation replaced it. Glancing behind him, he realized that Tohru was sitting by the door, staring into space with a sad expression. Kyo felt the carnal need to swiftly walk over to Tohru and take her into his arms, taking away the sadness and replacing it only with…himself. He wanted to be a happy thought in her life, not sorrow.

Realizing that she was being watched, Tohru snapped out of her thoughts and looked over at Kyo with a smile that lit up his body; that smile was just for him. He wanted nothing more than to keep her smiling in that manner for the rest of her life.

"I think practice is over-with, Kyo, so if you want to take your girlfriend home you can. She's been waiting an—"

"She's not my girlfriend," Kyo answered, his voicehard.

She'll never be my anything.

"Uhh, all right man. I just thought that since she…"

Kyo looked over at his partner, his eyes dark and body rigid.

"Oh well. Practice is over. Good job today."

I can pretend I don't love her, Kyo said to himself as he grabbed a towel to dry off the sweat pouring from his body.

I can tell myself I don't love her a million times a day. She'll never get to be anything more to me than Tohru.

Kyo walked over to where Tohru was waiting patiently by the door, talking softly to Rin in a cautious manner. Rin made a face and Tohru looked stricken as she started to apologize profusely. He watched as Tohru's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment, a lopsided smile taking over her natural smile, and her body slumping a little forward with shame. Rin looked away, embarrassment also echoing through her slight stature.

Kyo couldn't keep his eyes off Tohru, drinking in every feature of her body and animation, wanting only to memorize her every movement so that when he was alone… in that room… that he could forever remember her in every way, shape, and form.

That damned dog was right. I'd just be lying to myself.

"Finals are going to be coming up in the next couple of days, Honda-san. Would you like to study with me?"

Tohru looked up from her dinner. "Y-yes, Yuki-kun. That would be very nice of you! Thank you very much!"

Yuki smiled. "Well, we haven't studiedor taken the exams yet, so there's no reason to thank me."

"Yeah," Kyo interjected. "It's not like that damned rat will be able to help you much."

Tohru looked down at her food, her cheeks blazing pink. "Ah, I understand. Yuki-kun's hard work will just go unused seeing as how I tend to do bad on the exams even with his help."

Yuki glared over at Kyo, but it's not like Kyo hadn't already felt stricken with remorse.

"Th-that's not what I meant at all! I meant that that stupid rat couldn't teach you---I mean, he's too stupid to help you! I don't think you're dumb... ahhh, damned it," Kyo muttered, his face redder than Tohru's with embarrassment. He knew that he was just making her feel worse, and simultaneously giving away that he had a high opinion of her in front of both Shigure and Yuki. Glancing up, he wasn't surprised to see Yuki glaring daggers at him.

"Thank you Kyo-kun! That was very nice of you to say about me," Tohru smiled brightly, catching Kyo off-guard. Kyo just shrugged and continued having a flushed face.

Shigure patted his stomach, contentment etched into every cell of his body. "Ahh Tohru. Yet another excellent dinner created by your capable hands. What did we ever do without you?"

Tohru's cheeks turned pink yet againand she smiled uncomfortably at his compliment. "Thank you Shigure-san. I didn't do anything, really."

"Nonsense my dear! You made something that no one else in this house could have ever made. Ahh, and some day, perhaps,you'll make something else that no one else here can make as well," Shigure noted, a wistful look replacing the contentment.

Tohru, Yuki and Kyo all stared at the writer.

"Eh? What do you mean Shigure-san?" Tohru asked, her head tilting slightly to the side.

Silence enveloped the room as the three teens awaited Shigure's response. Shigure allowed the silence to stretch for a while, until he felt the disgusted annoyance fill the air coming from the two boys. Opening his mouth, he took a deep breath and cried out happily, "A BABY! Our sweet Tohru as a doting mother! Oh I can't wait until the day!"

Shigure smiled innocently at a dizzyTohru as both Yuki and Kyo descended upon Shigure withsimultaneous attacks.