Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. Someday I will own the world, though. I'm convinced of it. I'm saving up all my money.

Slipping to the floor of the balcony, a sobbing moan escaped Tohru's lips. Crouching, Tohru rolled herself into a ball, burying her head into her knees; rocking back and forth, she cried helplessly.

Mom… Mom…

"Honda… san?"

Tohru didn't want help. She didn't want anyone to talk to her, to see her. Keeping her head in her knees, Tohru didn't respond to Yuki.

Tohru felt a hand fall on her shoulder, and she stopped rocking.

"Did… something happen? Are you all right?" The worry was evident in his voice.

The fact that he was worrying about her ate a little at her mind… but she was unable to stop crying.

"Where's Kyo?" Yuki asked, his voice suddenly hard. She could tell that he was looking for him, scanning the balcony and the roof to see if he was hiding somewhere nearby.

Tohru tried to stop the rush of emotions as she heard Yuki say Kyo's name, but it was too much. Emotions that she couldn't even know existed surfaced and threatened to bubble over, almost choking the breath out of Tohru.

Gasping, tears streaming down, Tohru replied to Yuki. "He… jumped off… the… balcony…"

Yuki, taking his hand briefly off Tohru's shoulder, walked over to the railing of the balcony. Looking down, Yuki saw two feet imprints in the freshly thawed March ground, marking where Kyo had landed. Yuki could see the bent impressions in the grass where Kyo's running feet had flattened it, and followed the trail until he saw it disappear into the woods.

Sighing, Yuki turned back to Tohru. "He ran into the woods, Honda-san."

Tohru felt her face scrunch in silent pain and she began to shake.

He…he killed you?

She felt Yuki bend next to her, his hand returning to keep a gentle grip on her shoulder.

"You're… shaking. Honda-san, Kyo… didn't do anything… to you… did he?"

Tohru couldn't reply. Her body was shaking and her voice wouldn't work. Tears wouldn't stop coming from her eyes. All she could do was rock back and forth again; movement kept her from going completely insane from the onrush of emotions. A choking howl was caught in her chest, making her breath come short. Just slightly, Tohru shook her head no.

Yuki watched as the woman who had always taken care of him suddenly became… helpless. Resolve filled him.

"That's it. You're going back to bed. No school."

Tohru's eyes burst open and she looked up at Yuki.

Yuki was taken aback by how desperate Tohru looked, her face soaked and her hair a mess. Yuki immediately stood, taking his hand away from Tohru's shoulder.

"But I promised…" Tohru's eyes filled with fresh tears; I promised Mom I'd finish high school for her.

Yuki held out a hand. "Tohru, your mom would be proud of you for coming along this far. And missing one day isn't going to hurt your chances of graduation. I'll just tell the teachers that you fell ill from studying so hard but will be able to come to the ceremony tomorrow."

Tohru stared blankly at Yuki. She couldn't help but remember what Kyo had told her just a couple of nights ago… "Tohru…your mother would be happy for you no matter what…"

"No. I… will go to school."

Yuki bent down and gently took Tohru's arm. Hoisting her up, Yuki shook his head.

"Then it's all right if we're late. I can go grab your things from your room and then we can go, is that all right Honda-san?"

Tohru nodded slightly, the hair surrounding her face sticking to the wetness on her cheeks. Yuki took the opportunity to hand her a drying towel from the line. Tohru stared down at it as Yuki pattered off silently to grab their collective school items.

Mom… I thought I had figured out who I was going to give up… you, or Kyo… but I think I…

Kyo couldn't stop running. Even though his lungs were about to burst from lack of air, the adrenaline in his blood carried him further and further away from the look of terror on Tohru's face. His heart felt as though it was literally torn to pieces.

He knew that if he turned, that if he stopped for just a second to look back, that he would go back to her. That he would run back to the balcony where the wind rustled the wash to hold Tohru, to try and comfort her, to cry with her for his transgressions.

But she would never let him. She's lost from me.

Not long ago, he had held her on that balcony without changing into a cat. She had told him about her father; about how she emulated him not because she was like him, but because she was unlike him. She talked like him only to please her grieving mother, and to prove her relatives that she was Katsuya's daughter, even if only through speech. She had confessed this to Kyo on that balcony, and he had held her without changing through the wash after her heart-wrenching confession, and there he had confessed his own lies.

How could I have been so stupid? So blind to think that she would forgive me for taking away her mother.

I am a fool.

Kyo ran to the only place where he could find sanctuary.