Fruits Basket

Beginnings and Endings

((Author Note: This chapter is setting up for the troublesome events ahead which is why it ends kind of oddly, you guys know the drill with me. Don't worry this chapter will pick up everything in the next chapter and that ones going to be a long one. Besides that enjoy. PS. I'm on spring break right now so I have limited internet access until the 20th which is why this update was so slow. ))

Chapter 35

Kyo tilted his head back slightly as he felt the warm droplets of water run over his half asleep face. His crimson eyes were slightly closed as he struggled to wake up. The warm water was a welcoming feeling that made his senses more aware then his mind. Yesterday night had turned out better then he expected. He had hoped to spend some time with Tohru and he was able to do just that, even though Yuki and Shigure were there with them.

"Those idiots…" Kyo mumbled in the shower as he squeezed his first together disposing of the small puddle that was beginning to form in his hand. It wasn't the thought of Shigure and Yuki being there that bugged him last night, but it was the thought that one day they wouldn't be there, "Man, why am I worrying about this? It's not going to happen, no curse no worries, right?" Kyo paused a moment to listen to his voice echo in the bathroom. He nodded his head lightly to himself deciding that the matter was settled and there was no point in worrying about it any further.

"Now, today I am going to see master and train hard! I'm going to keep on training until I am stronger then that damn rat! Ha-ha!" Kyo laughed loudly in the bathroom as he punched the wall.

Yuki could hear Kyo's voice echo through the house as he handed Tohru a few carrots that he had plucked from his garden so Tohru could make lunch with. His face tightened up as he attempted to keep a steady head, not allowed his emotions take over too much, "That stupid cat is at it again."

"He sounds happy," Tohru said cheerfully as she chopped the carrots that Yuki had handed her.

Yuki blinked lightly as he realized that Tohru was right about Kyo, "Hmm…I suppose you're right, Miss Honda. I never thought of it that way, but then again he is a simpleton it shouldn't take much to please him. Just throw him a ball of string."

"Really?' Tohru said in a surprise voice.

"Uh, not in a literal sense, Miss Honda," Yuki replied in a struggled laugh, trying not to actually laugh at Tohru but he couldn't help it. Of course Tohru didn't mind and she laughed right along with him realizing how silly she had sounded.

Shigure heard all the noise Kyo was making in the bathroom and he promptly got up from his seat to see what was going on. Without even hesitating Shigure flew open the bathroom door while Kyo was still showering, "Kyo please stop destroying my bathroom, I work hard to keep this place together."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Close the door! And you don't do crap for your job!"

Shigure rubbed his chin lightly with the tip of his finger, "I work hard for this family and those are the kind words you offer me? I am hurt Kyo." Shigure made a sad face as he clutched his hands together, "I think I'm going to cry."

"Go cry somewhere else and close the door you idiot!"

"I don't think I can!" Shigure said as he lifted his hand to his head as if he was going to faint, "You have hurt me deeply Kyo!"

Kyo wasn't sure how much longer he could stand knowing the door was wide open still. He raced out of the shower to close the door, but his keen senses picked up the soft patter of someone's footsteps coming towards the bathroom. Without thinking he grabbed one of the towels and threw it. It just so happened that it was Tohru who was drawing closer to Kyo and Shigure, but as she rounded the corner the towel Kyo and threw hit her in the face knocking right back into one of the walls. Her head bumped the back of the wall just right and she was unconscious in a blink of an eye. Kyo's mouth was hanging right open while Shigure was stunned that a towel somehow knocked Tohru out cold.

"Hmm…a fall from a window and she's safe as can be, but a towel thrown by Kyo almost kills her?" Shigure said as Kyo gave Shigure one of his more devilish looks.

"It wasn't like I was trying to hurt her! You're the one who left the door wide opened."

Yuki heard all the noise from the kitchen and he stepped out to see what was going on. As he stood in the hallway he saw Tohru knocked out on the ground, Shigure standing in the bathroom door way with his normal grin, and Kyo was standing in the bathroom still undressed. Yuki's face went blank for a brief moment, "What…is going on here?"

"Heh, imagine if someone happened to show up," Shigure said with a laugh.

"That's not funny!" Kyo yelled at Shigure as he fumbled for a towel.

"What's not funny is that you're still undressed," Yuki said as he scooped Tohru up in his arms.

"Shut up and stop staring at me," Kyo mumbled just as he heard someone knocking on the door. The three Sohma's all stood frozen in there spots as they heard someone knock on the door again as if to confirm their suspicions that someone was actually there.

Yuki stared down at Tohru who was still unconscious, "This looks bad, take her Shigure…uh Shigure?"

Shigure had gone to the door to answer it, "Oh hi there Miss Uotani and Miss Saki."

Yuki and Kyo both stood there stunned that Shigure was dumb enough to answer the door, they raced for Tohru's rooms upstairs to hide from her friends.

Shigure led their guest to wait in the living room. He was curious on how Yuki and Kyo were going to go about this and he didn't see the harm in having a little fun with them today, "So, what brings you two out here?"

"We thought we visit Tohru today for a little bit since we had some free time," Uo said as she leaned her elbow against the table.

"Where is Tohru?" Saki said with a suspicious look in her eyes as if she knew what was going on.

Shigure felt his hair stand on end as he struggled to respond to Saki without screaming, "Uh…well she's upstairs, uh getting dressed."

"Where's orange top and the prince then?" Uo said as Saki just munched away at a few snacks that Shigure had left out.

"Uh, getting dressed." Uo and Saki both gave him the strangest looks he had ever seen and that's when he realized that what he said sounded fairly suspicious and very inappropriate on quiet a few levels, "Oh, I didn't mean that! I meant Kyo knocked her out with a towel." Uo and Saki still stared at him oddly and Shigure didn't know what else to see, "What? It's true."

Yuki heard Shigure talking to the girls downstairs as he spied on them from the stairway, "Shigure seems to be handling himself for now."

"Would you stop spying and do something useful?" Kyo said with a growl as he set a cool rag against Tohru's head. He had gotten fully dressed however he still looked extremely wet.

"I could say the same since all you're doing is sitting there staring at her."

"At least I'm concern!"

"Yes, you proved yourself there when you beamed her with a towel and knocked her out."

Kyo felt his mouth shut quickly as he slapped himself in the face, "Ok I get it."

Yuki allowed a light sigh to escape his mouth. He actually felt sorry for Kyo since things always seemed to go downhill for him. He sat down on one of Tohru's chairs, "At least you admit it. Miss Honda will be ok. Just a bump on the head really. Give her a few minutes and she'll wake up."

"Yeah, yeah…" Kyo paused a moment as he looked around Tohru's room, "It's sort of empty in here."

"Miss Honda doesn't burden herself with too many personal items. You know how she is."

Kyo felt a bit bad that Tohru had so little possessions, but Tohru really didn't need much to be happy, "We should do something..."

"Perhaps, but I hardly think it's the time to think about shopping."

Kyo narrowed his eyes lightly to Yuki since it sounded like he was poking fun at him. The two boys stood in Tohru's room staring each other down until they heard the door knock again which made the two boys feel even grimmer then that did then before.

Meanwhile Shigure had excused himself from the two girls who were still staring intensively at him to answer the door, "Hmm I wonder who it could be now." Shigure opened the door to see Kureno standing before him with a light smile spread across his face, "Kureno?" Shigure said in a surprised voice.

"I was hoping that I would be allowed to speak with Kyo," Kureno asked as Shigure quickly stepped back to allow Kureno in.

"He's upstairs but he's getting dressed. You can join Tohru's friends though."

"Hmm…alright," Kureno said as he followed Shigure into the room where Uo and Hana were seated.

"Hey, Mr. Novelist is this one of your relatives?" Uo asked as she stared at Kureno who in return stared back at her. He was curious on the kind of company Tohru kept who were outside the Sohma family.

"You have a good eye!" Shigure said with a chuckled, "This is Kureno Sohma."

"Pleased to meet you both," Kureno said as he bowed his head to Hana and then to Uo.

Hana didn't seem too interested in Kureno at the time since fresh snacks had been supplied on the table and she was too busy munching away at them. Uo however seemed to be taken completely aback by Kureno. His kind face seemed like one that hardly ever felt the pain in his life. His soft brown hair complimented his matching eyes as his a kind smile spread across his face, "I see Tohru keeps kind company."

"Heh," Uo said with a smirk, "Tohru's our friend to the end. We're nice only if you're nice to her, but if you screw with her then, POW!" Uo froze in her seat as Kureno stared at her. 'Damn it. Old habits die hard. I made an idiot out of myself!' Uo screamed at herself mentally, but Kureno looked at her with an amused look now.

"Tohru's lucky to have a friend like you then."

Uo hadn't expect Kureno to praise her for her comment since she thought her abrupt behavior would have scared him off for sure, "Huh?" was all Uo found herself squeak out.

"Tohru seems to attract the people she needs the most in her life. She needs strong friends to support her through tough times. As I can see you're strong enough for Tohru."

"Tough times?"

Kureno seemed to falter as he collected his hands together to gather his thoughts back, "What I meant is that her mother's accident seems to affect her more deeply then we can see. Having friends like you make it bearable."

Hana and Uo both glanced to each other; they hadn't expected Kureno to have such a deep understanding of Tohru.

"Hey you're not, Kyo's rival are you?" Uo demanded as she eyed him with a suspicious look.

Kureno blinked lightly with a confused expression plastered across his face, "Rival?" Kureno laughed at the thought, "I'm too old, I am the same age as Shigure."

"Old?" Shigure said with a shock face as he pressed his head against the table.

Kureno laughed still while Uo joined with him. Hana just stared at Shigure, occasionally poking him to see if he was still alive. Kureno could see why Yuki and Kyo had been doing better in Shigure's house. The atmosphere around them was filled with a joyous feeling. It made Kureno feel completely alive, however he would never betray Akito and leave him behind. He had promised to stay by his side and he will. Kureno understood why Akito had hated Tohru so much. She could create a setting that made the Sohma's feel comfortable while Akito created nightmares that could break the strongest warrior's spirit. Akito however was the head of the family and it wasn't Kureno's place to question his position. He got up to his feet bowing his head lightly, "Allow me to check on the boys."

Shigure was going to object but Uo nodded, "Good I'm getting bored down here. Tell Tohru we're here too!"

"I will," Kureno replied back as he followed the stair's up to the rooms. As he tried to figure out which door he should go to first, he caught the sounds of a few voices mumbling to each other. He slowly walked to the door and peeked inside to see Yuki and Kyo sitting on the ground while Tohru looked like she was sleeping in her bed.

"What's going on here?" Kureno asked with a raised eyebrow curious on why two boys were sitting in a girl's room.

Yuki and Kyo nearly jumped out of their skins when Kureno appeared for the hallway.

"Kureno?' Yuki said once he caught his breath.

"Knock next time," Kyo said with a sigh, he could tell today was going to be a long day, "She's ok, just a bump on the head."

"I'm glad to know," Kureno said as he bent down to Kyo's and Yuki's level, "I've come on Akito's behalf. Kyo…he wants you locked up still. You still haven't beaten Yuki and when graduation comes…"

"I know!" Kyo blurted before he had a chance to catch himself. He lowered his head between his shoulders as he struggled with the feelings that rolled around inside him. Deep down he knew Akito wouldn't allow him to get off the hook so easily. Curse or no curse.

Yuki and Kureno both watched him, expecting some sort of blurt out, but it never came.

"I was a fool to think that he would have forgotten about it…" Kyo lifted his head slowly with a light smile across his face, "I'll try to beat Yuki by then, but if I don't then that's fine. I'm the cat…I'm not ashamed of that. I'm not going to run away anymore…"

Kureno could see the emotions that Kyo struggled to hold back. Kyo wanted to burst out crying, but his face tightened to keep the tears back while his lip bit sharply into his skin. Yuki felt has chest tightened in anger towards Akito. He didn't understand why things had to be this way. It just wasn't fair, "Akito…"

Yuki suddenly burst out of the room leaving Kyo and Kureno behind.

Kyo…Tohru said to heserlf as she laid in her bed with her eyes still closed. She had heard the conversation that had gone on and now she was even more desperate to find a way to change Akito's mind about the curse upon the cat.