Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Chapter Three : Yuki's Condition

Tohru tossed in her sleep violently, screaming and sobbing uncontrollably. Hana wiped her forehead with a cold cloth and Uo sat slumped against the wall. She had been getting progressively worse as the second week of her sickness wore on. They had called Hatori many a time, but every time he told them that there was no medicine for the sick at heart. Hana, sitting back, examined Tohru's waves. They were sad, sadder than any waves she had felt before. Mixed into the sadness was a hint of strong love. Hana knew instantly that it was probably for Yuki. Watching Tohru's eyes, she found them moving, and she wondered what she was dreaming of.

The spring air wafted calmly through the trees, playing softly with Tohru's hair. Standing before her was Yuki. He had a desperate countenance.

"Honda-san, I love you," said Yuki, his voice trembling. Tohru looked away.

"Sohma-kun, I…"

"No! Don't tell me… You love Kyo? He's gotten you before I have?" Tohru avoided his gaze.

"No, Sohma-kun… No… I just… I…"

"Please, Honda-san. You know I love you. I don't care about Akito anymore. He can't hurt me. After we graduate we can move far away, maybe even America or England."

"Sohma-kun, I can't. I'm not ready. Please, give me time."

"You do love that stupid cat! You do!" Yuki reached out to Tohru, but she tore away from him and ran.

Tohru was hanging the laundry out on the line. Kyo stood by her, handing her clothes from the basket. When the basket was empty, the two stood silent and unmoving. Kyo, turning his back, shut the door. Turning to Tohru, he clutched her arms.

"Tohru…" He began to shudder. "Tohru, do you love me?"

"Kyo-kun, I…"

"You love Yuki, don't you? Damn that rat, I'll kill him!"

"Kyo-kun! No!"

"Then, please! Just answer my question! Do you love me?" Tohru was completely silent. "Answer my question, dammit! Please!" Tohru fell to her knees, and began to cry.

"Kyo-kun… I…"

"Dammit!" Kyo left the porch, slamming the sliding door shut behind him.

That was two days before Yuki locked himself in his room.

-

Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame were sitting around a table at Hatori's house, sipping tea. Sighing, Hatori broke the silence.

"We have to do something about Tohru." Ayame nodded in solemn agreement.

"It appears that the only way to do that is by getting my brother out of his room." Shigure rested his head in his hands.

"That doesn't look too possible at this point," said Shigure, "I think there is more to the situation than just what Akito said. Maybe something having to do with Tohru..?"

"Who should we ask about it?" asked Ayame.

"Tohru would be the logical choice. But in the state she's in, we'll have lots of fun getting it out of her," replied Hatori.

"We've go to try."

The next day the Mabudachi trio was sitting by Tohru's bed. She had stopped throwing up for the most part, but only because her stomach was completely empty. Instead she was hallucinating more, and she was running a high fever. Hatori took her hand, and looked her in the eye.

"Tohru-san?"

"Ha-Hatori?"

"Yes, Tohru-san. It's me, Hatori. I want to ask you a question." Tohru's gaze focused in and out on his face.

"Of course."

"Do you know why Yuki may have reacted to Akito the way he did? Why he locked himself in his room? You know, Akito surprised Yuki and said very mean things to them, and that is why he's up in his room. We don't think that that's the only reason he is reacting this way though. Do you have any ideas? I really need you to tell me anything that happened. It might help us in trying to get Yuki to come out." A tear streamed down Tohru's face.

"He… Sohma-kun told me he loved me. I didn't tell him that I loved him back, said I needed more time. I lied to him to. When he asked me if I loved Kyo-kun, I said no. Later that day, Kyo-kun asked me if I loved him. I didn't say anything. He accused me of loving Sohma-kun." Hatori, Ayame, and Shigure all looked at each other.

"And? Who do you love?" Ayame blurted out. This earned him glares from the other two men.

"I love both of them equally. If I were to date one, then the other would be sad… I think that's why Yuki reacted how he did. And, I was scared of Akito-san…"

"Don't worry, Tohru-kun. We'll keep Akito away from you," said Ayame. Shigure looked down, and Hatori gazed at Shigure.

'Something's up…' thought Hatori as he watched the dog's gaze flicker around the room, never alighting on anyone's face. 'I'll talk to him later…'

-

Kyo groaned. It had been almost a week since he moved into the apartment, and his cash was starting to dwindle. He had put aside a chunk of it to pay rent, but food money was entirely separate. Stretching his legs, he wondered how he could get some more money. There was no telling how long he would stay here, away from Tohru. Picking up the newspaper he had bought that morning when he had gone out to get a bento box for breakfast, he flipped through the job offer ads. His eyes fell on an ad. "Recently begun Martial Arts Dojo, instructors wanted. Good pay, lunch provided daily. Hours, 8:30-5:00pm. Monday through Friday. Please call…" Kyo instantly picked up the phone and dialed the number. Ten minutes later, he was catching a taxi.

-

Yuki was a complete mess. His state of mind was a see saw now, as soon as he was stable enough to venture out of the room to find Tohru, thoughts of Tohru and Kyo together exploded into his head like dynamite and he crumpled to the ground again, crying. He had been doing this for about four days now. He felt it; he knew he was close to leaving. He just couldn't quite get there yet. All he needed was a loving word from Tohru, and he would throw open his door and free himself from his own captivity.

This was the longest Yuki had been his room. It was going to be three weeks in two days. He wasn't ready yet, he couldn't drive the visions of Akito and Kyo from his head. He had worked up just enough courage every couple of nights to get some food from the refridgerator and sneak back up into his room, but never enough to even approach Tohru's door. Not yet. Not yet…

-

"I swear I didn't!" cried Shigure, backing away from Hatori. He was backing into a corner.

"Sure you didn't. You cleared everybody out of the house but those two, and got Akito to come over. On top of that, you convinced Yuki and Kyo to confess their feelings for Tohru two days before! You and Akito set this up, didn't you? Or, more close to the bull's eye, he set it up and you did the dirty work. You love him too much to see the truth. He wants to torture all of us, to show us that he hurts for us, so it makes him think that he can bring us to the brink of death and insanity because he can. He wants us to suffer to show us that he can, and if we don't do what he says, we'll end up like him. Don't you see?"

"Yes, I see. That's why I do what he says, so I don't have to be tortured by him like he does Yuki. I'm not stupid. You are, because you go against him. Just think. If you had followed his directions in the first place and stayed away from Kana, just think how much happier you'd be! You'd even have two good eyes! Hatori, if all the Sohmas did what he told us to, no one would be sad. He just wants to be loved, and to be whole. Akito strives for happiness just like everyone else does. He just reaches for it from the wrong direction. We can't change that. He's Akito, he does what he pleases. Accept that, Hatori, and you'll be okay."