A/N: Alas, another case of the disappearing characters. It seems Momiji and Haruhatsu simply disappear when they're not necessary. I apologise! I tend to focus in on the main characters (and a few of the supporting characters I find easier to write) in romance-type stories. Please don't be angry with me! I consider it a noble sacrifice in the name of shounen-ai! Ohyeah. The point-of-view changes a lot in this chapter. I had a lot to fit in in a small space!

A/N: This is part one of a double update!

DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Fruits Basket. Nope, nope.

Title: You Should've Known Better

Author: Kumoneko

Pairing: Yuki x Kyo

Chapter 04: Not Just A Walk In The Park

Breakfast was awkward, to say the least.

Sitting beside Tohru, Yuki grasped his chopsticks loosely and prepared to tuck into his meal, but his attention strayed to the quiet whispering beside him. Ayame and Shigure were making eyes at each other most obviously, and occasionally the Snake would lean over and sigh quietly into the dark-haired man's ear, sending Shigure into childish fits of giggling. "All right!" they said in unison, beaming.

Kyo sat in silence, though Yuki was certain that somewhere a vein was pulsating dangerously. The way he ate seemed violent at best, as he stabbed at his rice menacingly. The Rat slurped a bit of his stew before smiling and offering a quiet compliment to Tohru, who immediately blushed and zoned out. Yuki smiled and looked back at Kyo, whose crimson eyes were burning fiercely. It took only that simple, wild look for Yuki to go scrambling out away from the table, excusing himself hastily as he grabbed his shoes and tore the door open, shutting it halfway behind him.

Yuki could not stand to remain in the same house as the bitter feline any longer.

A few hours later..

Shigure huffed in frustration as he stared cross-eyed at the small river rock in his hand. The heat was no good for the paint, which was taking ages to dry in the humid air. It already felt as if the ocean itself had risen up to blanket the forest with its oppressive moisture. And that's without mentioning the pesky gnats and chiggers that insisted on buzzing maniacally around the Dog's dampened head.

Shigure's arms and hands were dotted with a myriad of colours, a rare sight – as his use of ink and paint was almost perfect. Rarely did one find him sitting in the midst of a project so very dirty.

"Those look like crap," a voice called from the door. Shigure twisted around to find Kyo leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed. His eyes were narrowed and his face was set in a sneer.

"They certainly do," Shigure replied, nearly sending Kyo into fits with his unexpected agreement. "I wanted to make a set of zodiac ornaments for this house, but the paint just isn't doing too well in his humidity.."

"No shit, Sherlock," Kyo muttered, staring off into the distance. "I don't care anyway. I'm never a part of those sets either way."

Shigure peered up at the Cat curiously. "Ooh .. I could see to that. I mean, it would be simple to paint a neko. You'd just be horribly estranged. Separated far from the others. An outcast, clinging to life and searching for love!" Shigure's voice increased in intensity as he went on, eventually standing up and clasping his hands together as tears poured forth from his eyes.

Kyo facepalmed, and waited for the violins to stop playing before he spoke again. "Whatever. Have you seen Yuki?"

Another shock. Only this time, Shigure was the one in fits. "N-no. No. I haven't seen him since he ran out at breakfast." The Dog snorted in an attempt to hold back his laughter. A very poor attempt indeed. "Did you see his face! It was priceless!"

Concerned, Shigure's laughter hardly registered as Kyo launched himself off of the porch and sprinted into the forest, leaving a highly amused canine behind to laugh at his own jokes.

The heat was so very unbearable and he'd been running for so very long.

The wheezing had started an hour ago, and he'd been trudging slowly back the way he had come for even longer. The terrain was rough and the sticky air wasn't helping. Yuki's bronchial tubes were simply too weak to deal with the strain he'd placed on himself. All at once the silver-haired boy sank to his knees and found himself enveloped in a cave of fabric. He'd transformed in his weakened state, and he was lost in the folds of his clothing. Yuki had barely scrambled out of a sleeve when he felt his world darkening. Heavy eyelids hid his glossy violet irises as he lost consciousness – a tiny rodent in the middle of a dangerous forest..

Kyo's long, powerful strides had carried him well into the shadowy forest before he realised his surroundings were simply flashing by. That was not an effective way to locate the missing Rat. "Damn Yuki. This is just stupid," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair in frustration.

Yuki was definitely not on the beach. That was for certain, as he'd picked up his trail and had followed it off the path that lead to the beach. Kyo's tracking skills were superb, as he'd learned them while living and training in the mountains. One's ability to track decided whether or not they ate that night. Unfortunately, in his overzealous rush to find Yuki he had inadvertently lost the trail and was now running on luck. Birds were calling loudly from the treetops, and even Kyo's exceptional hearing was unable to separate the sounds of the forest from anything useful.

Kyo could feel the pinpricks of tension on the back of his neck as he realised how overwhelmingly massive the forest was. In a brief scan he saw nothing of interest, until a particular tree caught his attention. A gnarled old growth had been disturbed. Its thick coating of moss and fungi was partly torn away on one side, a wound that looked like someone had squeezed past in a hurry.

("It's either Jason, or it's Yuki..") The Cat thought as he slid past the aging tree.

A narrow, previously hidden path lay before him, and here the canopy seemed thinner. The ground was alive with swaying patches of sunlight, coloured yellowish-green as it filtered through the leaves. Kyo picked his way carefully down the path, avoiding hazardous encounters with large insects and intimidating centipedes.

"What the hell would Yuki be in this part of the forest? It's disgusting." Even the air stunk as if it was stagnant and the heat increased considerably. Sweat began to sting his eyes, and he pressed onward through the strange area into which he had wandered. He was about to give up and turn back when he encountered an interesting scene in the middle of the trail.

A boar was nosing at a pile of clothes, dirtied by the soil and the beast's hooves. Something was obviously inside of the clothes, which the boar was apparently rooting for. Kyo twitched involuntarily, and launched himself full tilt at the tusked creature. The normally aggressive boar took off like a shot, too shocked by the Cat's sudden angry appearance to argue.

Kyo waited until the cowardly boar's tail had disappeared into the brush before he scooped up the pile of clothes, parting the mess of sleeves and pant legs until he found what he had been looking for.

"Yuki!" he exclaimed, noting the unconscious Rat's laboured breathing. Kyo tossed Yuki's belongings over his shoulder and tucked his small body into the crook of his arm before taking off down the path.

It was imperative that Kyo got Yuki home as soon as possible. He couldn't lose him to this. Not now. Not at such a crucial point in his life..

A/N: Moving right along..