Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

Chapter Eight : Reasons and Dreams

Shigure's home was quiet. No birds chirped, no leaves rustled softly in the breeze. Not even Tohru's cheerful voice or Kyo's annoying one could be heard. He looked around frantically, searching for signs of life. Suddenly, he turned around and there was Akito. His fingers were wrapped around Tohru's neck, squeezing. Tohru wasn't moving.

Akito let the girl drop to the ground then turned on him. He backed away, but was stopped short when he ran into something. Turning to see what it was, he saw Shigure, smiling coldly. Shigure tried to grab him, but he escaped. He ran into the kitchen, and what was on the floor made him scream. Haru was lying face down on the kitchen floor in a puddle of blood, a butcher knife stuck squarely in his back. He screamed again and ran into the dining room, hoping to find someone who could help him. Instead he saw Kyo dangling from the ceiling, a rope encircling his neck. Screaming even louder, he ran upstairs into Tohru's room.

Tohru was standing in the middle of the room, her arms open wide to embrace him. Relieved when he saw that she was alive, he ran forward to hug her. Tohru's gentle smile soon became a harsh and cold one, more baring her teeth than smiling. She squeezed him in such a powerful hug that he felt bones snap and colored lights flashed before his eyes. He gasped for breath, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, it wasn't Tohru hugging him. It was Akito. Screaming again and again, he tried desperately to free himself from Akito's grasp, but to no avail. Finally, he couldn't breath and Akito whispered in his ear.

"I've got you."

Yuki awoke, gasping for breath. His sheets werewrapped firmly around his neck and he was covered in sweat. The rat got to his feet shakily, and got a drink of water. The clock on his microwave read 3:47. Deciding to give up on sleeping anymore, Yuki plopped down on the sofa to watch TV, even though it was all in English. He flipped channels mindlessly, and stopped on the local news. He watched for a moment, trying to distract himself, but Yuki's thoughts were soon drawn back to Akito and his dream. Shaking his head violently, trying to clear dismal thoughts from his mind, Yuki tried to focus on something happy. Turning off the TV, he grabbed one of the gardening books he had brought with him and opened it. His breathing slowed and he became more relaxed, and soon his emotional stress from the past few days suddenly made itself present. Yuki's eyelids drooped sleepily, and the book slipped from his hands as he fell headfirst into a deep, dreamless sleep.

-

Tohru stirred, stretched, and climbed out of bed. When she turned to straighten her blankets, she noticed a note taped to the pillow. Picking it up, she read the scrolling words slowly. Letting the paper slip from her fingers, Tohru walked cautiously into Yuki's room. It was empty, all his belongings gone. She sat heavily, stunned. Resting her forehead on her knees, she cried quietly, praying that Yuki would be alright.

-

Everyone was surprised at Yuki's sudden departure, most of all Akito. He had expected a quiet submission, but what he got was his cousin defiantly fleeing. Everyone figured that the rat had packed his bags and left the country, since Akito could find him anywhere in Japan.

The least surprised of the Sohmas was Haru. He visited Tohru often after Yuki left, comforting her and telling her that he was doing it to protect her. Uo and Hana also hovered around Tohru more than usual, talking to her and telling the depressed girl that Yuki would come back. The glimmer of perpetual hope in Tohru's eyes was gone now, and it didn't look like it was going to come back any time soon.

"Tohru-kun, Yuki fled Akito to protect you. If he had stayed, Akito might've tried to kill you. If you wait, he'll return soon enough. Be patient, he'll return when it's safe for the two of you to be together."

-

Two years passed. Akito tried and failed to find Yuki and also failed in trying to get to Tohru. Finally he decided to just wait for Yuki to return. Kyo and Tohru continued to attend school, telling the teachers that there had been a family crisis and that Yuki had moved away suddenly. They graduated without any problems. Tohru went on to work full time as the head chef of a restaurant; Kyo started his own martial arts dojo. Hatsuharu and Hana had grown steadily closer throughout the turbulent years, but decided to put their budding relationship on hold and not tell anyone, for fear that Akito would discover them.

Tohru and Hatori continued staying with Ayame, but Tohru moved into a small apartment near Ayame's (for safety reasons) shortly after she got her job. Uo became a martial arts instructor at Kyo's dojo and the two soon began to get along very well. Uo still didn't know about the curse and Kyo made sure she didn't find out. Two years after Yuki left, Tohru had steadily gotten better, but by no means had she forgotten him.