Chapter 7: Curiosity Kills the Rat

Nothing bad happens to Yuki for those of who that may decipher this chapter name differently. The chapter title does have meaning though. So…read and review if you like.

Disclaimer: I do not own Furuba or any thing that has to do with it, except characters I may make up along the way.

Bold Italics- thoughts

Italics- Flashback

Tohru tried to place a serious expression on her face but that attempt fails horribly. His eyes were locked on Tohru, seeking her answer. She smiles a little at Yuki, almost looking nervous, and responds, "Kyo-kun…is…very different. His heart is delicate. So, some one had to have done something…" Her voice was quiet as she spoke, she didn't want Kyo to over hear them talking about him. Yuki lightly groans so that Tohru doesn't hear. He walks around in her hands thinking, rubbing behind his little rat ears. "And…when Kyo pulled me down behind the bush, all he said was that there was a conflict with Kureno and he's changed a lot." She answers his other question, which took Yuki by complete surprise.

He stares up at her for a few more moments then hops out of her hands. "You may want to turn…" he pauses then the pink mist engulfs him. She flies against the house, closing her eyes. "Around..." Yuki finishes quietly, grabbing his clothes and changing back into them quickly. "So…Kyo…had a conflict with Kureno?" he sighs in annoyance. "That's not good…" Tohru turns around slowly. When seeing he was clothed again, she faces him completely. She nods slightly and looks around. It was already getting pretty late in the day and she hadn't even began cooking as she had promised when she given the right to stay in the house for free. Tohru runs passed Yuki and into the house.

Mumbling Yuki began to try and think things over. "Conflict with Kureno. What could have happened between Kyo and him? There are so many things happening at once…and… almost none of it is making any sense. Kyo being afraid of Akito coming to graduation, a conflict with Kyo and Kureno, and Shigure and Kureno talking secretively, what's going on these days…" he mutters quietly. Were Shigure and Kureno discussing Kagura's injuries? Did they even care if she was going to live? What could be more important at the time then worrying about her well being? Something about how every has been acting lately was making him think much more then usual. There were things he couldn't quite understand about some of the members of the juunishi, even though he'd basically been around them all his life.

He slams his fist against the side of the house, and then groans in a little pain. Kyo jumps down and looks at Yuki, seeming pretty annoyed. "Look here you stupid cat, I'm not in the mood for your moaning, so get out of my face." He shot quickly at the moment they made eye contact.

Kyo scowls at Yuki and shoves his way passed him and into the house quickly. He stops in the kitchen and sees Tohru cooking. It was actually nearing five o'clock so dinner was due to be complete by around six. He smiles and walks into the kitchen. "Thanks for…." He stops himself; his voice was soft enough so that Tohru couldn't hear him. Then, he decides to speak up. "Tohru…" he calls softly. She turns around and smiles, opening her mouth to greet him. He just stops her by continuing on, "Th-Thank you…for…talking to me…listening to me…on the roof not too long ago."

She tilts her head and says sweetly, "Oh, it was nothing, honest, Kyo-kun!" Her face was a little red from blushing. "I just…don't like to see you upset." Tohru adds softly, turning back to the stove and rice cooker. She had rice and dumplings cooking slowly on low, since she didn't want to risk burning anything. On the stove were a few fish that were in the package, cooking on a higher temperature then the dumplings. Placing the rice in a bowl she distributes it into four plates evenly, and covers them waiting for the dumplings and fish to finish.

"Um…to…say thanks a little better," Kyo began shyly, "I'll help you get the dinner finished. With the hot stuff, so you don't have to worry about getting burned or anything…" he adds quickly, getting extremely red in the face.

Tohru stares at Kyo, and smiles gently. "Oh no Kyo-kun, you couldn't…I mean…. you could…but…" she was confusing herself as well as Kyo who seemed to be so confused it pissed him off. He rubs his forehead, then brings his hair back, his bangs pulled up a little. Dropping his arms back to his sides, his hair drops down a little, only it was a little messy.

He sighs and walks to the threshold of the kitchen, and takes a glance at Tohru. "If you need help though, you can come get me. I'll be in my room…" he says softly. Seeing her nod he begins his way up the steps, ignoring the fact that he could hear Yuki attempting to sneak up behind him. As they reach the top of the steps Kyo spins around and looks at Yuki angrily. "What d'ya want pretty boy!" He exclaims.

Ignoring Kyo's rude comments he begins to speak, "Kyo…I need to talk to you…" Was all he said as he walked passed him and into his room.

"What! Do you expect me to follow you! Trust you!" He whispers somewhat loudly under his breath. "I…. I can't trust the rat.." He thought, and then followed Yuki anyways. Entering his room, he closes it behind him and stares at Yuki standing in front of him. "What is it Yuki!" Kyo questions full of aggravation.

Stepping closer a little, Yuki looks at Kyo, searching his eyes for fear. Spotting something that looked like desperation he grins slightly. He is questioned about his smile by Kyo and merely shakes his head. "Kyo… why are you so worried about Akito coming?" He found himself asking this question without the slightest worry.

Kyo stares at Yuki with an almost shocked expression. 'There it was,' Yuki thought to himself, 'that fearful look in his eyes.' He had to know what caused Kyo to get like this. Even if he had to pry at Kyo's brain constantly. "I'm not worried…about Akito coming, you damn rat…" He growls at Yuki, sounding half afraid and half confident. "I'LL BEAT YOU YUKI! And then…" he pauses, he felt like tears were about to swell up, "I'll never have to think about worrying again…" Kyo says, swallowing a little, feeling a small lump in his throat.

His curiosity was getting the better of him now. At this moment, Yuki was almost positive he knew what was going on. Then it shattered with Kyo's next statement. "You think you are so smart! Just because your zodiac depicts you that way! But you're not…your not!" He exclaims desperately as if he were gasping for air. "Akito is holding nothing against me! She just hates my guts! Why would I even think about entrusting anything within her words!" Everything he was saying was full of holes. He couldn't let Yuki know that he'd be locked up like he once was, if he doesn't beat him in a fair fight. Kyo knew that even Yuki wouldn't want him to be locked away, and then he'd probably let him win. He had to prove to Akito…. he had to prove to himself…and to everyone, even Tohru, especially Tohru…. that the cat can prevail over the rat, no matter what.

"Okay then Kyo…what was the reason for you ducking behind the bush when you saw Kureno. You telling me your afraid of him?" He asks inquisitively.

He grins looking at Yuki and turns around, grabbing a tight hold of the doorknob. Laughing now, Kyo replies sounding agitated, "I'd never be afraid of him. I'm just pissed off at the things he did to a few people I know. And…I'd rather not see Tohru hurt by him too…" He had answered Yuki trying not to lose his cool too quickly.

The door gently opens with Kyo's hand still clenching it. Tohru had entered the room and saw Yuki and Kyo. "I thought I'd find the two of you in here." She says to them smiling happily. "Um…Kyo-kun…if you still want to…can you…" Tohru asks not even being able to word what she was trying to ask correctly.

Kyo smiles a little and places his hand on top of her head, turning her around. "Yeah, yeah, let's go." He says pretending to groan. She panics a little thinking she is bothering Kyo. "Stop getting like that." His hand was removed from her head as they approached the steps. He taps her on the head with his fist playfully as he always does and they go down the stairs carefully and enter the kitchen. The plates were already set with food, but it must have been too hot, or too many for her to carry. Grabbing two burning hot plates he sets them down on the table, then gets the other two and does the same. Each plate was covered with a mini mountain of deliciously cooked gyouza, rice, and fish. All seasoned perfectly by Tohru.

Shigure sat at the head of the table. Kyo was seated across from Shigure with Tohru to his left and Yuki to his right. They all ate the food normally, with the exception of Shigure who ate as if the food would disappear if he were to stop and drink for a second. Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo eat normally, though they were starving from not eating the night before and all day earlier.

"What're you looking at!" Kyo questions angrily, clapping his chopsticks together, pointing in Yuki's direction. "Do you have a problem with how I eat or something rat boy!" He exclaims getting extremely pissed off. Clearly all the questions Yuki had asked him were getting into affect now. He gets up from the chair and runs outside and onto the roof.

"Kyo…. kun…" Tohru whispers, as she stops eating for a second. Beginning to feed herself again she finishes and cleans off her plate in the sink. Then, grabbing Kyo's plate she goes outside, and climbs up the ladder carefully, holding the plate out to the side, using one hand to work her way up. "Kyo…." She calls softly, as it got a little chilly; she sets the plate on a flat part of the roof, and pulls herself up. Looking around she sees and hears Kyo talking to himself.

His attention was no longer set on the setting sun, but the shingles on the roof in front of him. He stares at them and continues whispering to himself. "I'll…beat him right…. For once, I'll get lucky and show everyone that I deserve to be a part of the zodiac and be free." He mumbles quietly, not hearing Tohru crawling towards him with the plate of food. "That damn Yuki…is just full of questions." Kyo continues on, Tohru now behind him and listening. "He…knows exactly what's going on doesn't he? He knows that if I don't beat him…I'll be locked away forever by Akito doesn't he?" He continued to question himself and Yuki's possible thoughts. Tohru's eyes grew wide hearing this.

She didn't want Kyo to leave. Once, not long ago, she remembered him telling her that he wanted to be by her side, to help her when she needed support. To be there for her.

I love him. Everything about him makes me smile. His likes and dislikes. The positive things and the negative things. All of this makes him more unique. He was the one who I thought I could relate to the most. Even though every member of the juunishi is different, he is something different. I had always loved the cat from the story. I thought I understood his feelings. Then when I met him, I couldn't help but want to get to know him better. Who is he? How does he act? What are his hobbies? Why he was so crazed about distancing himself from everyone? This had to be the reason. He was afraid that he would never beat Yuki, and if he had someone he was too close to, he would feel even worse about being locked away. About breaking any promises he may have made.

Crawling away, she leaves the food there and climbs down the ladder quickly. She ran into the forest, the black sky befalling the entire area. Stopping in the area where her tent used to rest she sat by the lake, tears dripping from her eyes. "Why…do the bad things happen…to the ones I love?" she whispers to herself. Pulling out a little wallet, she flips it open revealing a picture of her mother. "Mom…why? How come everything has been going wrong since the day you got into that accident?" Tears dripped onto the picture, the drips of it running down the plastic that protected the picture.

Kyo gets to his feet and his foot taps the plate gently. He looks down and sees it. His eyes grew wide. "N-no…Pl-Please…don't let…. don't let that mean …what I think it means…. T-Tohru…" He whispers. His voice was shaky, the words not coming out as a complete sentence. "She…. heard me..." Kyo continues on, making himself worry, and become frightened. He ran and jumped off the roof, landing hard on his feet. Jumping off from that position, he went running.

Seeing him from inside the house, Yuki walks out and follows Kyo. He made sure he wasn't noticed and kept himself a little farther behind so that it looked a little more natural. Like he was out for a walk, or jog. He notices that Kyo had stopped in the area Tohru's tent was once located. He'd only seen this spot once and that was a while ago. Then he saw Tohru, sitting sorrowfully near the lake.

Walking up to her slowly, Kyo grabs her by the shoulders and lifts her up, turning her around gradually. He saw tears soaking her cheek. Unhappiness was written all over her face. It was like he was looking at a person who would never be happy again, and it made him feel a little depressed, especially since that person at the moment, was Tohru.

"Tohru…" he says softly, staring into her eyes, receiving her gentle, sorrowful gaze in return. "You…heard me…didn't you? About… what Akito is going to do …to me…" Hearing this Yuki's heart rose. It's not like he wanted him to be locked away, (as said before) but that he had pieced everything together correctly. "Please…. don't let that make you sad." He whispers to her. "I don't know what I'd do if I knew I was the reason you never looked cheerful again." Kyo smiles at her as he says this.

A gentle smile crosses her face slowly. "Bu…But…Kyo-kun, I don't want you to leave. You can't." She says softly, then her voice gets a little louder, "Your not allowed to!" Tohru cries out desperately. He looks at her with just as soft of a gaze as she had given him just a few seconds ago.

Grabbing her hands, he squeezes them gently. Kyo smiles a little hearing the last sentence she spoke. "I'm not allowed to? So…I wont get freedom from your constant cheerfulness either?" He says joking around a little. "Tohru…. There's some stuff I have to tell you…when…you don't like me as much."

Her eyes seemed to be shadowed, as they got black, making her look panicky. "Li-Like? Um…no Kyo…not … I don't …maybe…I…" she stuttered continuously not finding the words she wanted to use. He places his hand on top of her head just as he had earlier. "Eh…" She lets out a soft gasp.

Kyo smiles and bops her on the head again making her rub her head. Yuki's eyes were peering out from behind a tree. A smile was again gently creeping across her face. "K-Kyo…." She mutters softly and then carefully continues, " I'll …help you stay… free." His eyes grew a little wide as he listened to her. He couldn't believe how much she wouldn't be able to live if he were gone. Kyo's hands were still holding her's gently. Her grip on his hands grew tighter as she leaned forward, her eyes tight shut as she tells him desperately, "Kyo! I…. I can't live without you!" Tohru drops to her knees after yelling this, and cries over and over again, hands covering her face to stop the tears from going any farther.

He looks down at her, his eyes much wider then before. He almost couldn't believe his ears. Did she really just say that? Kyo was caught in miles of disbelief. All he could do was smile softly and kneels down to look at her. Placing his index under her chin, she removes her hands. He lifts her head up with his finger a little to make eye contact with her. "Tohru… that means a lot to me…really." He whispers to her softly.

Yuki was standing in shock behind the tree. He looks back around the tree to see Kyo kneeling down talking to Tohru. The words were recollecting themselves in his head. "Kyo! I…. I can't live without you!" Her voice echoed in his head. For a fact now, he knew that she loved Kyo, and not him. Not him. Not him. He glances at them again. Yuki could see them, Tohru had her eyes closed. His lips were pressed against her forehead. Rat-san's eyes got wide seeing them. He ran back to Shigure's home quickly.

Kyo lays her down grabs a large slab of bark and drags Tohru on top of it. She had fainted the moment Kyo's lips touched her forehead. It wasn't from him kissing her though; she was just too overwhelmed at the moment that she probably would've fainted even if he hadn't come to find her. He ties a vine in a hole in the top of the bark, and drags her along as he heads back to Shigure's house, unaware that Yuki had watched and heard everything.

Stopping at the front of the house, he saw none other then Yuki sitting at his spot on the roof. He grins a little, seeming happy that Yuki seemed depressed somehow. Getting Tohru into the house via slab of bark and manages to gradually drag her up the steps without getting her hurt.

She started to moan a little as she woke up. She felt as though she was floating since her feet weren't really slamming against the steps as she was brought upstairs. "K…Kyo…" Tohru whispers under her breath. His hands were under her arms and he pulls walking backwards up the steps carefully. He stops at the top of the steps and stands Tohru up and looks at her.

"Your awake?" He says sounding a little surprised. "Well…I think you should get to bed, right?" Kyo asks not seeming too sure about his own suggestion.

Her faces beams gently at him then she runs into her room and changes into her pajamas, and lies on her bed, her arms outstretched above her head. She felt so much better now. Having the feeling of permission to help Kyo made her so much happier at this moment.

Kyo went to bed not much longer after her.

Yuki stayed on the roof, gazing across the trees in the forest. "I shouldn't have followed them…" was all he mumbled before falling backwards, and sleeping on the roof. A blanket was over him and that was it.

Meanwhile at the Main Sohma house Akito was being informed of how things had went a day or so earlier. Kureno told her all about his little scuffle with Kyo which didn't make her the least bit happy. "You allow me to be right, my dear Kureno." She says gently, getting to her feet from the chair that she was somehow managing to stay up in.

Kureno stares at Akito. "I did get it through the minds of Haru and Rin. What I said seems to be imbedded deep in their heads." He informs Akito of their current progress. "You will be the only woman in our lives Akito… no other woman can replace you. You…my dear Akito…. are our God. We follow and should abide by your rules." He says almost praising everything about Akito.

"We'll lock the beast away that attacked you. Then…everything will be the way it was when all of us were younger. My family will serve under me." Akito says gently, laughing quietly under her breath.

I finally finished Chapter 7 after staying up until 4 in the morning. Hope you all enjoyed.

Thanks/Comments To:

K40Sohma: Thanks for the review, person who I don't know (jk). Hope you continue to enjoy the story. And get some sleep!

Chan: I find myself getting questions in reviews, but it doesn't bother me much. Hope you enjoyed the chapter(s) though. Kyo, according to the later volumes of the manga, ran into the middle of the road in his cat form as Kyoko was driving. She saw and noticed it was him, and swerved out of the way to avoid hitting him. In result she got into the accident that ended up killing her. Tohru doesn't know this though. (Kyoko knew Kyo when he was younger. So she knew about him and stuff…so I've learned)