Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Chapter Two : The Fine Details

A week passed slowly. Tohru remained in bed, her fever gradually increasing until she began throwing up constantly. Every minute that she wasn't sleeping or emptying her stomach, Tohru was sitting by Yuki's door, talking to the wall. She apologized, begged for him to come out, and even sang. Uo and Hana visited her for the first few days, but were now staying with the Sohmas. Most of the time they were giving her medicine and trying to get her to keep some food down, but occasionally they just sat with her, stroking her head gently.

Haru had also come to stay with Shigure. He was often pleading right next to Tohru for Yuki to come out. Other times he would snap, pound on the wall, and leave for a few hours. Shigure calmly watched the teens and did what he could. He had given up trying to get them to go to school. They had refused every time.

Kyo, on the other hand, had pulled money from his savings and rented a run-down flat in the city. He left in the middle of the night with his things, and left a note on Shigure's door explaining his absence.

I'm staying in an apartment in the city for now. I can't stand the tension in this house and that that pansy rat has locked himself up again. Tohru sick isn't helping my mood and I don't really want to be here if I snap. There are too many girls in this house now anyway. I'm not leaving forever, if that's what you're hoping. I'm just taking a break.

-Kyo

-

Akito was lying on the porch again, staring blankly at the sky. Slowly, he turned his head to see Hatori standing in the doorway. Hatori bowed his head, and sat by Akito.

"Why did you tell Yuki those things?" asked Hatori. He fiddled with his tie and tugged on his now chin-length hair. Akito gazed into Hatori's eyes.

"Why, my dear Hatori? I did it to punish him. That boy has been continually disobeying my orders. He deserved it. I hear that he has locked himself up again? Am I right?" Hatori nodded slowly.

"Yes, he has. It's already been a week. Tohru-san has become sick, Kyo has moved into an apartment for the time being, and Hatsuharu and two of Tohru-san's friends are staying at the house now."

"I see. Anything else, Hatori?"

"Nothing, Akito," said Hatori. He stood, and walked back inside. Stopping briefly, he turned to speak. "This punishment may yet prove to be more severe than you intended, Akito. Be careful. Rats bite, cats scratch, and bulls will fight when provoked. I would be cautious if I were you." With that, Hatori closed the door behind him, leaving Akito alone. The head of the Sohmas pondered this statement for a moment.

"I don't care if they fight back. A little conflict would just make my plans better. But if it does indeed get out of hand… Well, I'll deal with that when it happens. For now, I will sit back and watch the show."

-

Brring. Brring. Kyo groaned as he rolled out of bed. His apartment was tiny and cramped, with only two small rooms and a bathroom. Stumbling to the phone, he picked it up. He had left Shigure the phone number to his apartment.

"Hey. Kyo here," mumbled Kyo into the phone. It was only 4 am, even Kyo, the ultimate early bird, was still sleeping at that hour. Shigure was on the other line.

"Hello, Kyo."

"What the hell is your problem, calling me this early?"

"I didn't want anyone to overhear me talking."

"Fine. Then I guess this is awfully important. What is it?"

"Well…"

"Just spit it out."

"I want you to tell me exactly what happened between you and Yuki, and what Akito said."

Flashback

It was Saturday, and Yuki and Kyo were at home alone. Tohru had gone out shopping with Uo and Hana and Shigure had a meeting with his editor. At first, neither spoke to each other, both going about their own business. Lunchtime came, and they sat at the table, eating the previous night's leftovers. Suddenly, Kyo spoke.

"You saw the hat, didn't you? That's why you were so uptight that day." Yuki looked away.

"It's your hat, isn't it? You were the one that led her home."

"Yes." Yuki looked up at Kyo with hatred.

"How come she was the one who you hugged the other night? She ran to you when you were hurt, but she ignores my pain." Kyo didn't respond. "Isn't it true? I'm sitting here, hurting, and she just smiles at you! Akito is beating me again, but she doesn't shed a tear!" Kyo exploded.

"What the hell are you talking about? You're so damn good at hiding your emotion, it's no wonder she hasn't found out yet! You're so scared of her discovering your weaknesses, so you hide them, and you expect her to just magically know everything? You selfish bastard!" Kyo leapt at Yuki, punching him in the jaw. Yuki didn't retaliate at first. Kyo kept punching him. Suddenly, Yuki kicked Kyo so hard that he flew across the room and hit the wall hard. The cat slumped to the ground, stunned. Yuki turned to leave the room, but when he turned, his saw Akito. Horror struck him, and he turned to run, but Akito's voice stopped him.

"Yuki. I see you are doing well." Yuki shuddered, and collapsed. Akito approached, and laid his hand onto the rat's head. Yuki convulsed violently then sat completely still. Akito ran his fingers through Yuki's hair.

"Why do you constantly run from me? If you would only listen to me and do my bidding, you would live a happy life. But no, you wish to disobey me and do only what you want to. I know you love Tohru. It's obvious. But she cannot release us from our curse. What can she give you that I cannot? She is just an ordinary, ugly girl. Just like Tsuiko. Do you remember her, Yuki? I was very displeased with you that time. I made sure that you did not see her again. Shall I remove Tohru? I would not wish to kill her. If you come back to me, I will only erase her memories and those of her friends. Does that sound fair? I will give you until the end of the month to think upon my offer. Don't try to run away. I can always find you." Akito gripped the boy's hair and lifted him to his eye-level. With an evil grin, Akito threw Yuki to the ground and left.

Kyo related all this to Shigure. He was silent for a while, processing.

"So those are the fine details, huh?"

"Yup."

"And then what? Yuki went upstairs and locked himself in his room?"

"Yeah."

"Well, thank you Kyo. I'll talk to you later."

"Wait! Just don't tell Tohru."

"I won't."

-

It was the middle of the night. Yuki, so hungry that even in his great grief he noticed it, snuck out of his room to get some food from the refridgerator. Creeping softly, he slipped through the shadows like a ghost, and soon reached the kitchen. He stopped instantly when he saw Hatsuharu and Uo standing by the fridge. Making himself as small as possible, he hid in the corner and watched them.

"How's Tohru doing?" It was Haru asking.

"Worse," said Uo solemnly.

"How so?"

"She's hallucinating, and can't keep anything down. She's dehydrated, and hasn't eaten anything in the last three days. Sometimes we can get her to eat a cracker or two, but not lately. Sleep hasn't been coming easy to her either, and when she does sleep she screams out the prince's name until she's hoarse." Haru slumped against the wall and closed his eyes.

"We've got to get him out of there. If she stays like this much longer, she runs the risk of starving." Uo nodded, and went back upstairs, leaving Haru in the kitchen.

"Yuki… Please…"