Disclaimer: I still do not own Fruits Basket or any of the characters from the anime or manga. I do, however, own the character of Aiko and this particular fanfic.
A/N: I got the Braveheart soundtrack to add to my CD's to listen to while I write. I can't listen to music with words often when I write because it's too distracting a lot of the time. But this one's been really good. Anyway, here is chapter four. Also, I would really like to hear your opinions on who you would like to see as couples in this or upcoming stories.
Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 4"How would she know about the curse?" Tohru asked, "I mean, she just moved back here. And if she had somehow found out before…."
"Akito would have had her memory erased," confirmed Kyo.
"And you're sure you've never actually met her before?"
Kyo shook his head, "I don't think I've met her before. But at the same time, it's like I have a vague feeling that I should know something about her. I guess that means that if I met her, my memory of it got erased. But if that were the case, her memory would definitely have been erased, so she still shouldn't know anything about the curse now."
Kyo and Tohru sat up on the roof, trying to figure out how Aiko could possibly know about the curse. They sat in thought until it was time to go back t class, but neither came up with any answers. Reluctantly, they stood and headed back to the classroom. Kyo was less than happy to find Aiko standing nest to her desk, grinning at him as he made his way back to his seat. He tried to ignore her, but she stepped around in front of him. She bent down so she was face to face with Kyo.
"You sure ran off quickly. Was it something I said?" she asked innocently, "I'm sorry if it was. Anyway, I'm glad you decided to come back and join us, kitten."
Kyo glared up at her, "Stop calling me that. If you call me that again…."
"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down! Geez! Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I was just trying to be friendly. You remind me of a friend, remember? We, my sister and I, used to call him kitten all the time. It's an affectionate term. It's not meant to be something bad."
Across the room, Tohru was watching the interaction between the orange-haired boy and the new girl. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she was watching closely. As the girl brought her face level with Kyo's, Tohru felt herself growing irritated. The girl was being all together too familiar with Kyo. And speaking of Kyo, he was just sitting there while the girl got in his face. Most people would get a none-too-subtle warning to get out of Kyo's space if they tried that. But he was just letting her talk. Tohru perked up a little as she saw Kyo glare at Aiko, but the girl didn't back down. And, after she spoke again, the glare slowly left Kyo's face. Tohru creased her eyebrows, and then turned her gazed away from Kyo and Aiko. She was putting quite a bit of effort into trying to ignore Aiko's behavior.
The conversation between Kyo and Aiko had not, however, stopped simply because they no longer had an audience. Well, conversation might not be the correct term. Aiko was doing most of the talking. In fact at this moment, she was tilting her head in Tohru's direction and asking, "So, what's the deal with you two? You got a crush on her or something?"
Kyo made no reply but the blush that painted his face was enough of an answer for Aiko.
"I knew it!" she exclaimed, "So, what's the problem? Why haven't you asked her out yet? No, wait; let me guess. Your cousin, his is your cousin right, has a crush on her, also. And you are either afraid that she'll pick him or you don't want to hurt her by making her choose between the two of you. Or both. Or maybe, you've got some deep, dark secret that prevents you from hooking up with her. Ha ha. As if that would be it. That sounds like something out of a movie. Anyway, I think you're worrying over nothing. I don't see how she could choose a guy like that rat over someone like you. I think you'd be surprised to find she might just pick you."
"And what would make you think that?" Kyo asked, trying to sound less interested in the answer than he actually was.
Her answer was mumbled so Kyo could be sure he heard her right. But what he thought he heard made him eve more suspicious of the new girl than he had previously been. What he heard sounded as if she had said, "Because that's what happened with Kei."
Kyo racked his brain trying to remember where he had heard the name Kei recently, but nothing was coming to mind at the moment. He was about to ask Aiko about this Kei person when the teacher started class up again. But class was, at this point, the least of Kyo's worries. He spent the rest of his day trying to get things straight in his head. So many things were plaguing him and they all revolved around the appearance of this new girl. Not to mention how confusing her emotional shifts seemed. One second he could have sworn she had been flirting with him, then she was telling him to confess his feelings to Tohru, then she became all sad and mysterious when she, he thought, spoke of this person named Kei. And despite all the strange things about her, Kyo was feeling less creeped out and more intrigued by Aiko. He had started to get the feeling that maybe he should try to get to know her better. It was as if he believed that by finding out more about this girl, he could answer some of the questions he had about himself, though he had no idea why he might feel that way. Perhaps it was because she already gave the impression of knowing a lot about him.
The afternoon seemed to drag on forever. Kyo sat through the rest of the school day impatiently tapping his pencil on the edge of his desk. He needed to talk to Aiko again. He needed to find out who Kei was, if that's what she had really said. He needed to know how much she knew about the Sohmas. He needed to know…he was getting carried away. Maybe he should just start out by asking about this mysterious Kei and see where that led.
Kyo was so deeply entranced in his pondering and planning that he didn't even notice when the last class of the day ended. He remained seated, staring off into space, until someone tapped him on the shoulder. Jumping slightly, Kyo looked up to see Tohru frowning down at him with concern written on her face.
"Hey, Kyo," she said as he looked up, "Class is over. It's time to go home."
Kyo stared at Tohru for a minute and then shook his head to clear it. He stood up and glanced to the seat behind him. Aiko was already gone. Kyo, looking back to Tohru, nodded at the empty seat, "Where did she go?"
Tohru shook her head, "I don't know. She took off pretty quickly as soon as class was over. I tried to ask her if she wanted to do something with Uo, Hana, and me but she said she was busy today. She seemed almost embarrassed about something, like she was trying to run away."
Kyo seemed to consider this for a moment before grabbing his belongings and running at full speed out of the classroom, leaving Tohru staring after him. Kyo ran as fast as he could, trying to find Aiko. He was using his instincts to serve as directions; since he didn't actually know which way she had gone. Luckily, his instincts did not mislead him and he caught up to Aiko as she reached the gate of what he assumed was her house. He stopped her with a hand her shoulder.
"Wait up!" he yelled, "I've got a few things I wanna ask you."
His voice trailed off as he looked up at the building in front of him. It was a large place, though not as large as the Sohma main house. Still, Aiko obviously came from a family with money. However, this is not what stopped Kyo. He was struck instead with a peculiar sense of déjà vu. He had been her before. Except the truth was, Kyo had never seen this place. He had never been even really been near here.
"What did you want to ask?" was Aiko's return question.
Kyo returned to the present, "I want to know about Kei. Who is he? Why do I know that name? Why do you? What does he have to do with me?"
Aiko gave a sad smile, "I can't tell you, now. But you know the answer to all these questions yourself. You've just forgotten them."