Disclaimer: I don't own. Fruits Basket is the brain child of Natsuki Takaya. I make no money off this so please don't sue!
I Like Pie- Gracias for the review!
Bradybunch4529- Thank you for the kind words. It's reviews like these that keep me going. I'm glad to know the descriptions are emotional. Thanks!
yi wen 1776- /blushes/ Thank you! Okay, now to answer your questions. We find that Akito is a woman in chapter 97. Fruits Basket is still in progress and Natsuki Takaya is continually writing new Fruits Basket chapters I believe per month in the Japanese magazine Hana to Yume. I think that there are 18 volumes so far, and the sixteenth volume is already out in Japan. Hope these help!
Animefreakkagome- Thanks. Hope you like this chapter!
Chaan- Thank you! YUKIRU FOREVER N' EVER!
Sahrah Marmalade- Thanks! I'll try to keep this fic up to everybody's expectations.
HelloKat- Aah, my beloved reviewer! I always look forward to hearing from you. I agree Yuki is yum! The green goob and wild hair came from an experience I had with my mother. Let's just say she's not a morning person. Oh, and I'm currently working on weaving my lovely Hatori in the story! My sad, sad seahorse. Um... I mean dragon. Thanks for reviewing! Hope to hear from you in the next chapter!
kitsunendemon- Donkeshen! Yes, I have to admit, I love Kureno, too! Top 3 favorite Sohma men: Hatori, Yuki (of course), and Kureno. Funny how all the really mysterious guys catch my attention... Oh, but Kagura is my favorite Sohma girl. Scary how things work, huh?
Darkest Aphelion- Yes, I must sorrowfully admit that I'm not very good at checking for mistakes. I'm currently revising this whole fic, looking for little mistakes and such. I finally decided to get off my lazy arse and fix things. Hehehe. The Kazuma girl lessons came from an idea I got after COMPLETELY flat out embarrassing myself in front of this guy. I really wanted lessons on being smoother in front of the male population... Well, we can dream right?
A/N Thank you to all who gave me the names of the reps. It was highly appreciated. (Bows in thanks.)
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Within The Hidden Soul
Chapter 6: Thoughts of the Devil
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Hatori had left Yuki's dorm two hours ago, and he had left him in a terrible state at that.
Yuki was not going to be able to take the stress, not with the added burden of a mission. As a doctor, Hatori knew what he was talking about. As a chosen Juunishi, he had attended one of the top medical schools in the world. As a family member, he knew a loved one under stress when he saw one.
Guilt filtered into his conscience. This event may turn into de ja vu for them all. Flashes of a crumpled boy on the floor of a dim room and the remembrance of the smell of fresh blood came to his mind.
Hatori clenched his jaw; it was decided. He and Kazuma were going to have a talk.
-
Whenever despair or hopelessness used to fill Yuki as a young boy, he used to do one of two things:
a. sneak out to his secret base and stay there as long as he dared
or
b. look out his window and gaze out at the soothing scenery for a bit .
Since he had neither a window with pleasant scenery (his window looked out into an empty lot) or a secret base, Yuki did what any other teenage boy would do, flop down on his bead and yell into his pillow. After yelling for quite sometime, he became too tired to continue and settled for gazing at his ceiling. Yuki wasn't angry. No, he was just stressed, worried, and on the brink of insanity.
Not many things can make a prince lose his cool, but there are definite exceptions. For example, if there was a much more powerful person coming to meet him. A person that can make or break him. A great king.
And this is what was plaguing the young man as he stared listlessly at his ceiling. He was having a visitor tomorrow, but not just any visitor. You would never call a god, or someone close to it, 'just a visitor'. You would get down on one knee, bow your head and say "My lord" or if you were slightly closer you would say that person's name with the utmost respect. Not like how he said Mayu-sensei to his teacher or Arima-san to the girl who was showing him around. It was more like... Akito-sama.
The same Akito who took his garden away from him, who forced him into the Jyuunishi circle of agents, the one who stood as the head of the Sohma Family and its corporations.
Why was he coming to visit? Did he think Yuki was going to fail? Did he want to check on his progress? He then began to feel guilty. Tohru did respond to his light flirting, but she seemed to be holding back.
Yuki didn't understand. He thought he was pacing himself well enough. He had been doing little things like opening doors and carrying books for Tohru. He even tried to endear himself to her friends, Uo and Hana, which did not work as he had thought. They were suspicious of him, that was for sure. But despite his efforts, Tohru was a bit oblivious.
But then his mind snapped back to what would be happening Saturday. Akito, the man who provided Yuki's grief and Yuki's terror, would come. Whether he would condone Yuki or condemn him was the judgment left to be found. Until then, Yuki would have to wait.
-
A thin, frail figure lazily held his arm out as a bird fluttered down and landed on his pale finger. Sitting patiently nearby was another figure, bowing down in a pleading gesture.
Kazuma was inside the Master's room, begging in Yuki's defense. Though Kazuma hadn't seen the boy in two years, he felt he had to intervene, especially after talking to Hatori about Yuki's possible mental turmoil affecting his health.
Kazuma was close to all his students, but there were a couple who he felt especially responsible for. One being Kyo, a fiery boy whose spirit shined through the grief the world had inflicted on him, and the other being Yuki. Yuki, who was quiet and whose spirit seemed to be slowly dying. At one point, Yuki's spirit was finally able to glow radiantly under Kazuma's guidance. But maybe the brightness was too much for those who were forever hidden in the darkness to take. Because after ten years of training him, Yuki was taken from his grasp and thrown into the world as a student studying abroad.
Sometimes Kazuma wondered if it was right of him to try to instruct Yuki in morals of the heart. To try to build him into a person who could be proud of himself. It was for this reason, after all, why Yuki was taken from his grasp. Kazuma had supposedly lost his touch and had become an 'improper' teacher, at least that was what Akito had said.
He had, indeed, taught two conflicting subjects to the young boy. One being deceit and treachery, the other being honesty to the heart and humanity. It was a contradiction in all ways, but it was still a necessity.
Kazuma tried to keep his face from distorting into an expression of disgust as he watched Akito. He had trained the young Akito. He taught him fighting, business, and everything having to do with running an empire But he had made a deathly mistake. He taught all the components for a good leader, a good agent, but not the components for a good person. He had created the perfect monster. A person who believed that the end justified the means.
Now, he was begging Akito to leave Yuki to finish his mission in peace. Akito terrified Yuki to the point of utter madness. But who could blame him? Akito had tortured him physically and mentally. He had taken an already miserable little boy, forsaken by his own family, and turned him into a truly dejected child.
And just after Yuki was taken from his care, it was rumored Akito had tried to 'discipline' Yuki and empty his mind of the silly little ideals of love he had floating in his mind. No one except Hatori saw Yuki leave a few months later for the airport.
Who knew what he would do to the teenager now? And if there was such a time when Yuki didn't need distractions, it was now. There were times when he wished and prayed to kami that they could get themselves out of this mess. All of them. Out of the web of lies. But the bottom line was that they couldn't, and he would help any way he could to at least ease the burden of a mission. It was with this thought that he spoke.
"Akito-sama? May I please be granted permission to finish" Kazuma spoke tentatively.
"Might as well" the head said uncaringly.
"As I was saying, Yuki needs no distraction and he shouldn't be.. um.." he paused"dazzled by your presence this early in his mission."
"Early? It's been two weeks! I thought you said the boy was good" Akito suddenly exclaimed"If he had finished earlier, he could be here and keep me company" Akito whined childishly.
"You must keep in mind, my lord, that this is his first mission, and" he added gently"rather young. He isn't as experienced as Kureno, Shigure, Ayame, or Hatori yet. He's still learning."
"He's been learning since he was five. That's longer than most by four years" he responded coolly.
"Please, Akito, be understanding" Kazuma's voice sounding somewhat urgent. Akito, who had suddenly calmed down, sat back.
"Of course I will be" he said.
"Then you will not visit him" Kazuma asked hopefully.
"I said I would be understanding, I said nothing of not visiting" he took a moment to enjoy Kazuma's crestfallen face"but don't worry, I only intend to pay a visit to see if his living conditions are suitable enough." He paused"I won't hurt our most promising agent, our little mouse" Akito said in a soothing voice that only made Kazuma's skin crawl. "Now leave me in peace. I need my rest."
Kazuma gingerly stood up, his legs felt jelly-like after sitting on them for so long. As Kazuma was about to leave Akito spoke softly, his face looking out a window.
"Oh, and Kazuma" Akito began"Tell Hatori to mind his own business. If he has any concerns, tell him to come to me, not to anyone else."
For a moment Kazuma was speechless. "Yes, Akito-sama" he finally managed to utter before stepping out into the hall. The only hope that clung to Kazuma now was that Akito would keep his promise, which was a very thin hope indeed.
-
Tohru was worried. Yuki hadn't come out of his room all weekend. She had been waiting anxiously to apologize for their ruined plans. Though she had only known him for two weeks, he became somewhat endeared to her. He was very pleasant and easy to be around, but she couldn't help but feel that there was something more to his simplistic demeanor, something more complex.
She could not help but feel that maybe the two of them had the potential to be more complex as well.
Horrified at the thought, Tohru uttered a gomen and bowed to nothing in particular. She needed to get that apology out, perhaps maybe to apologize to herself for not letting her indulge in such things. But the bottom line was Yuki was a friend, and he saw her as such in return. Nothing more.
Yet, the intensity of that gaze when he looked her in the eyes the first day he arrived was so captivating. So mysterious that she wanted to unravel all secrets binding him. The thought of the look sent an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach, something that made her catch her breath.
Since that time, however, his eyes held a guarded look, a cool concentration was apparent behind them. And since that time a somewhat awkward, melancholied friendship fell between the prince and the commoner.
Yet he always managed to confused her. At times he acted polite, but others he acted...different. Bordering romantic. She sensed something almost desperate underneath these flourishing gestures. Then he would lapse into his polite prince-like self. Well, maybe self isn't the best word to use. She wasn't sure if this was truly Yuki. 'Mask' that's a much better word to use.
In the end, their relationship was full of paradoxes. It was full of "yet"'s and "but"'s. Brimming with "maybe"'s and "possibly"'s.
Tohru let out a long sigh. Okaasan, why are boys so confusing?
Tohru didn't realize that Yuki had purposely skipped Kazuma's lesson on "How To Not Confuse Girls".
The next day, the lunch bell rang and still no sign of Yuki. Tuesday passed with the same results. With Wednesday came the long awaited arrival of the Prince to school.
Yuki was swarmed by his concerned admirers, many of which offering thermoses of hot soup. Yuki smiled warily at them and graciously declined their offers of "personal check ups".
At lunch, Tohru briskly made her way to Yuki at their usual table, but not before being stopped by a certain Yuki-crazy cluster.
"Where do you think you're going" asked the harsh voice of Motoko.
"Yeah, where do you think you're going" repeated Minami.
"To go eat lunch with my friends. Why do you ask" questioned Tohru, completely unaware of how quiet the cafeteria became.
"'Why do you ask'" mimicked Mio in a high pitched voice"You know very well why"
"I'm sorry, but I really don't. So if you'll excuse me" Tohru tried to get past them so she could talk Yuki, but to no avail. They blocked her from leaving.
"Um...I kind of need to talk to Yuki-kun" Tohru timidly said, still trying to get around them.
"What did you just say? What gives you the right to call our dear prince by his FIRST NAME" Motoko shrieked. The cafeteria was dead silent.
"Because she's my close friend. When you care about someone, you call them by their first name, right Tohru-kun" said a quiet voice behind Motoko. Tohru gaped at the person to whom the voice belonged. He said my first name. Tohru's heart began to beat faster. Yuki looked at her directly in the eyes. Her breath caught in her throat. That gaze, she'd seen that gaze before. That unguarded, intense gaze. He almost seemed surprised by the words that came from his lips. After a brief pause, he continued"Now if you'll please excuse us, I think Tohru would like to leave now." Gently taking Tohru's free hand, he led her through the silent cafeteria to their table.
Uo and Hana were already there.
"Well done. I didn't think you had it in you" Uo said approvingly.
"Yes, I must agree with Arisa" Hana's soft voice commented.
"Well, those girls are rather, um, interesting. They'll back off with the right words" Yuki tiredly stated, sitting himself down, the cafeteria now buzzing loudly.
"We weren't talking about that part" Uo snorted.
"Thank you, Yuki" Tohru said, her eyes resting on her hands folded neatly in front of her as she blushed furiously.
"It was nothing" Yuki said, finding he couldn't lift his gaze from his shoes to even glance at her.
-
The week slowly past, and Tohru couldn't help but notice that Yuki had become more wary and tired. After Wednesday's little scenario, the two of them had barely talked due to the renewed determination of the Prince Yuki Fan club. However, a girl's concern and curiosity can only be curbed for so long. Tohru could not bring herself to ask Yuki why he was absent or why he looked so depressed.
Yuki was a walking zombie, passing from class to class with a glazed over look. In addition, he seemed more pallid and fatigued. She wasn't the only one to notice either. Teachers had taken Yuki aside and asked him about his current condition, and to each he had fervently declared his strength to continue with class. Girls left thermoses stacked in front of his dorm, while the guys discreetly cough, cough, knitted sweaters, cough for him cough.
Friday came, dragging its feet to greet an extremely stressed young man. After school Saturday, Akito had arranged to meet Yuki in his dorm...alone.
Visions of the past flicked past Yuki's eyes. His mind was completely occupied with thoughts of the terror to come. So much so that he did not hear the final bell ring in his last class. It was a few minutes before the teacher finally came over to Yuki and gently shook him from his daydreams.
"Yuki, the bell rang three minutes ago" the teacher tapped him on the shoulder"Go to your dorm and get some rest."
Yuki snapped to attention"Ah, sorry." He hurriedly gathered his materials and made a hasty retreat. The teen let out an exasperated sigh. He could not let this whole Akito thing ruin his concentration. This mission should have been a breeze. A picture of a certain brunette obscured his thoughts, her hair fluttering in the breeze as she smiled somewhat seductively at him. Her skirt teasing him as it flapped in the wind...
AAAAGH! No, he could not possibly think this way. Tohru was too nice to be thought of in such a disrespectful manner. Hold on! Too nice? Had he already formed an opinion of her? A positive one at that? Wait! Did he just say her name? Not good. Sure, he was supposed to say her name in public. That was the plan, to get her to think he liked her. But he wasn't supposed to be calling her by her name in HIS THOUGHTS! That suggested a real closeness.
But wasn't he close to her? Didn't he genuinely think she was a good person? Only on the outside. There's nothing really there, he tried to convince himself. He mentally slapped himself. As he tried to convince himself, his thoughts redirected themselves back to a smiling blue-eyed girl...
Tohru had been watching Yuki since he left his last class. He looked confused. She was slowly gathering her courage to go up and talk to him. It was really never that hard to talk to him before, so what was different now? Well, he seems pretty down. I'm just afraid to intrude on his privacy, Tohru said to herself in a reassuring tone. The reassurance kind of lost its touch when she felt herself blush at the sight of him.
She watched as Yuki entered his dorm, and she berated herself for waiting so long to talk to him. Tohru nervously tugged at her thin uniform shirt. She waited a few minutes before forcing her hand out to knock on his door.
"Hold on a second" yelled a voice from inside. She waited patiently as the door, listening to the bustling footsteps and the sounds of the door unlocking. Yuki opened the door, a look of genuine surprise gracing his features. It took Tohru a second before she realized that he had his school shirt half open, revealing a toned chest...
Tohru ducked her head and bowed, blushing furiously. "I'm sorry! If I've disturbed you in any way, please tell me so that I may leave right away"
"Oh, it's alright, I was just cleaning up a bit. Please come in, I'll go get some drinks from the fridge" Yuki opened the door wider as to let her in through the narrow, short hallway leading to his room. Tohru stepped in, trying to get past Yuki. Like I said, it was a narrow hallway.
"Um, sorry Yuki" she exclaimed as she bumped into his chest, her head briefly resting underneath his chin. She pressed herself against the opposite wall, getting around the young man and blushing furiously all the same.
When they finally maneuvered themselves out of the awkward situation, Yuki shut the door a grabbed some sodas from his fridge. Tohru seated herself on the edge of his bed, as he handed her a can of coke.
Yuki warily pulled up a chair and sat opposite of her. He looked out his window to see menacing gray clouds cover the sun. What wonderful weather are we going to have for Akito's visit, Yuki thought sarcastically.
"This is a pleasant surprise. What brings you here" Yuki politely asked, turning his head to face her. Tohru opened her soda before responding.
"W-well, Yuki-kun hasn't been acting like himself lately. So I just wanted to drop by and ask if there's anything wrong" Tohru managed to blurt out.
Yuki was silent for a second. "No, nothing's wrong" he lied. "I'm just under some stress. I'm having an important visitor tomorrow after school, the head of our family" Yuki said, sighing. He let out a shaky laugh"Silly, huh? Getting worked up over a silly little visit."
Tohru raised her eyes from her lap and looked at Yuki. "No, I don't think it's silly at all. If Yuki-kun feels this is something worth getting stressed out over, it must not be silly." Yuki merely smiled. "Was this also the reason you were absent"
"Yes, I have to admit that as a young child, I was very sickly and fragile. Sometimes under stress, I relapse into a similar state" Yuki paused to meet Tohru's worried expression before hastily adding"But I'm fine now."
Before she could say something, a roll of thunder crashed and the lights blacked out. Tohru let out a scream, jumping up and spilling the soda on her blouse. She tripped over a stool and topped off her misfortunes by falling to the ground.
"Are you alright" Yuki exclaimed, jumping up in concern, trying to find her in the dim lighting. The lights kicked back on, the back-up generator providing power. Yuki looked down to see Tohru sprawled on the ground.
"Oh, sorry. I fell" she glanced at down at her shirt. "Oh, no! I spilled on myself" she said in dismay. Yuki looked away, realizing that the soda made her blouse rather transparent and clingy.
Still looking away, Yuki offered to let her borrow one of his shirt. She agreed, promising to return it to him as soon as possible. After changing in his bathroom, she laid down her own shirt next to his bed.
Yuki smiled inwardly. She looked funny, wearing his oversized shirt on her tiny body.
"I'm such a klutz. I'll wash your shirt and give it back tomorrow."
"That's okay, keep it as long as you need" Yuki said, smiling. He didn't seem as tense. Tohru relaxed a bit at his expression, but she couldn't help but notice the flush in his cheeks. She got up and put her hand on his forehead, leaning in to look at him. Yuki was surprised by this gesture.
"Hmmm, that's funny. You don't seem to have a fever, but your face is a bit red" she said, trying to comprehend the reason behind it. Yuki was very glad that she didn't identify this as a symptom of embarrassment. She continued"Maybe you've been over-exerting yourself. I think you should get some bed rest now" Tohru took Yuki by the arm and gently laid him on his bed, despite his protests. She tucked him in and gave instructions of laying very still. Tohru then sat down again next to his lying figure. "Ano, Yuki-kun."
"Hmmm" Yuki responded, his face staring out the window next to his bed.
"I just wanted to say that no matter how important this person visiting you may be, that you are also important. My Okaasan once said that each person is important because they were chosen to come to this earth and do something. Whether it be solving world hunger or as simple as loving another. So Yuki-kun should take good care of himself because there might be a problem that needs you to fix it or a person out there that needs you to love them" she paused, and smiled.
"Do you think of you mother a lot" Yuki asked, Tohru's words sinking in.
"Yes, my Okaasan is one of the wisest people I know" Tohru said happily.
"It must be hard, then, knowing that she's gone" Yuki quietly observed, thinking about how his own mother abandoned him.
"Y-yes. Ano, Yuki? How did you know my mom's dead? I don't recall telling you" Tohru said, throwing a curious glance at him.
"Oh, well, Uo and Hana told me" Yuki hastily lied. He had slipped, he wasn't supposed to know things like that.
"Oh" was all Tohru was able to utter. They stayed in silence for a bit before Tohru stood up. "I think I should be going, it getting dark" she said, gesturing toward the dimming sky.
"Okay, thank you for visiting. I'll keep your advice in mind" Yuki smiled gently, beginning to get up on his own.
"Oh, no! I said to stay still. I can show myself out" Tohru said, putting her hand lightly to his chest to push him down.
Tohru walked out, closing the door behind her. she was very puzzled. The only people that knew her mother was dead was Uo and Hana, and she had sworn them to secrecy. Tohru shrugged the thought off. She couldn't handle these confusing thoughts at the moment because she was already busy with the confusing matters of the heart.
Yuki laid still. He really was exhausted. Even if it was pretty early, the dark sky combined with his fatigue helped to pull him towards a slumber filled with dreams of both hope and despair while Tohru's rumpled blouse lay on the floor next to the bed forgotten.
To be continued...
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Phew! That was long!
I feel like crap. I got up this morning with the worst sore throat and runny nose. I hate being sick, but then again who doesn't? Not only that, I have tests all next week! Bleh! The next update might take a few weeks, but not to fear! I've already outlined the next chapter and written a scene.
Anyways, I wonder what Hatori's up to... Hmmm, guess you'll have to wait and see.
Hehehe, the part about "How To Not Confuse Girls" was just a parody of the infamous Kazuma girl lessons. Makes you wonder where he learned it from... (sweatdrop)
In the next chapter: the long awaited appearance of Akito!
Well, as always, comments and constructive criticisms are always valued!
Ja!
S.B. Kisses