Disclaimer: I do not, by any stretch of the imagination, own Fruits Basket or the characters from it. I own Aiko, and this fanfic, but nothing more.
A/N: Well, things are going a little better in my family now. My brother is home from the hospital, my cat is home from the vet, and I'm down to once a week physical therapy for my foot (which is better than being at the doctor 3 times a week). And thanks to those of you who wrote hoping that things were getting better. So, I finally had time to finish this chapter. Here it is.
Shadows of Intrigue Chapter 6Kyo turned to head home after Aiko left him to enter her own house. It was a very contemplative walk for him. He had followed her seeking answers and he now returned to Shigure's with more questions. How was it that he was supposed to know who Kei was and what his connection was to Aiko? How had he forgotten? If he was supposed to know the answers to the questions he had asked, was he supposed to know anything else he had forgotten? Why couldn't Aiko tell him the answers to the questions he had asked? How did she know that he should know? His head was spinning with all these questions by the time he reached Shigure's house.
He was surprised to find visitors when he arrived home. Not only were Momiji and Haru still there, but also Hatori had joined the group in order to hear the story directly from Tohru and Yuki. Of course, Kyo had not been expecting any of these guests and was somewhat startled to find twice as many people as there should be at Shigure's house. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with company. On this night, he would much prefer to be left alone with his thoughts. He had enough going on in his head to keep him occupied for the next couple of days.
Kyo would have actually declined to visit and headed straight up to his room if he had not been met at the door by Shigure, wearing an abnormally serious expression, "Kyo, come into my study. We need to talk to you. It's important."
That made Kyo slightly nervous. It sounded like there was some sort of trouble. He couldn't think of anything particularly bad that he had done. And since Tohru was there, it seemed to be a good bet that nothing awful had happened to her, although the mere thought of such a thing turned Kyo's blood cold.
"Kyo, please have a seat," Hatori spoke up as Kyo entered the room, "We're here to discuss a new student at your school; a girl by the name of Aiko Hikawa. I believe you went off with her after school today. We need to figure out how much she knows about the Sohma family and what she plans to do with the information that she does have."
As Hatori spoke, Kyo sent a murderous glance at Yuki, who completely ignored him. Kyo moved his glance to Tohru for information but she refused to meet his eye. He got the distinct feeling that she was upset about something. He couldn't clear his head enough to think of what might have upset her, so he turned his attention back to Hatori, "I know the girl you're talking about. I wanted to know how much she knew, too. That's why I followed her today. She didn't tell me as much as I would have liked, so I can't tell you for sure how much she knows. But I can tell you she knows something. She called Yuki a rat and she called me kitten, twice. Oh, and she keeps comparing me to some guy named Kei, if that means anything to you. When I asked her about it, she said I already knew the answers to my questions but that I had forgotten."
Hatori's visible eye widened momentarily when Kyo mentioned the name Kei although he didn't really seem terribly surprised by what Kyo said. He merely let out a breath and asked, "Has she mentioned anyone else besides this Kei? A couple of girls, perhaps? Another man?"
Kyo shook his head and eyed Hatori suspiciously, "You know who she's talking about, don't you?"
"Possibly," answered Hatori, "I can't say for certain yet. I would like to meet this girl myself and ask her a few questions. Do you think you could talk her into coming over to see me? Or, Tohru, could you ask? Something tells me she'd be more willing to come with you."
"Um, I guess I could try," replied Tohru, looking very much like that was the last thing on earth she wanted to do.
"That's all I can ask of you," Hatori told her, "but I have a suspicion that she'll come with you."
Kyo burst out at this point, "And why the hell is that? What makes you think she would be more likely to go with Tohru than with me or anyone else?"
"Call it intuition," Hatori responded coolly. He caught the brief hurt expression that crossed Tohru's face as Kyo linked himself to Aiko. It angered him slightly that Kyo failed to notice this. If his suspicions about this girl, Aiko, were correct, then it was going to become pertinent that no doubt or mistrust exist between Kyo and Tohru. Kyo's ignorance of Tohru's feelings could ruin everything for Tohru, and quite likely for many of the Sohmas as well. He shook his head and stood up to leave, but stopped at the doorway and turned back to Tohru, "If she agrees to it, bring the girl over tomorrow after school."
"Okay."
Momiji and Haru left with Hatori, leaving the residents of Shigure's household alone. Tohru could not bring herself to look at Kyo. She wished she had to work that night. As it was, she seemed destined to spend an awkward night at home trying to sort through all the unfamiliar emotions she was experiencing. If that weren't bad enough, she would have to go through this in front of the person who was the cause of said emotions. She figured that after dinner, she would shut herself in her room for the night. That would be so much easier that trying to keep up a cheerful, social front all evening.
Tohru's less than chipper mood did not go unnoticed, even by Kyo, who had been rather distracted since meeting Aiko. He sighed to himself as he looked at Tohru out of the corner of his eye. Though he didn't know exactly why, by now he had figured out that he had something to do with her unhappiness. It bothered him to know that but he had absolutely no idea what to do to try to fix it, so, he too was finding it easier to avoid talking to anyone. Following dinner, he retreated to his favorite spot on the roof. He remained out there until he was sure everyone else had gone to bed. He was somewhat disappointed. He had half expected Tohru to come up looking for him, as she so often did in the evenings. Despite his disappointment, he wasn't really surprised. Tohru was definitely upset about something. Kyo, however, was too tired at the moment to keep trying to think things through that night. He moved off the roof, back into his own room, where he promptly fell into an unsettled sleep.
His sleep was unsettled due to the fact that it was again haunted by the dream he had had the previous night. The whole thing played through his head again. The two girls running through the woods. The face-off between the girl and the shadowy man. The young man's pleas. It was all exactly the same as it had been before and, also as before, Kyo awoke instantly as the girl fell to the ground.
The dream seemed even more real this time than he had thought the first time. This time he remembered the name of the young man who had pleaded for the girl's life. It was Kei. That shock caused Kyo to shudder. He tried to review the dream to see if he could grasp any more details or answer any more of his questions. Most of the features of the people were clouded in the darkness, but there was still a sense of familiarity. As he replayed the part where the girl entered the clearing, he focused on her. She glanced about wildly as she realized her situation. Due to this, for a brief moment, her facial features could be clearly seen in the dim moonlight that made its way through the clouds.
When Kyo's mind registered the girl's face, he jumped up and ran out of the room, terrified. He knew who that face belonged to and he had to know that she was still all right. He didn't bother knocking when he reached his destination. He threw open the door in a panic and asked into the empty room, "Tohru? Tohru, are you okay?"