Hey everyone! I'm back with the eighth chapter, sooner than I thought it would be! All of your suggestions in the reviews that I've received are great! But believe me, I have a lot of plans for this story. It's going to start getting a little more dramatic, so the category for this story is going to change to Romance/Drama. This chapter is sort of like the start of it all, as you can tell by the chapter title. I hope you all like this chapter, and please note that it will have a big significance for the direction this story goes in. Thank you for the reviews, and thank you so much for reading!
Title: Unexpected
Author: Swaying Cherry Blossoms
Chapter: A Tragedy On Valentine's Day
Summary: Tohru Honda's mother and Kyo Sohma's father have been friends for thirty years and their children have never met. But on one fateful day, the two teens meet and their lives are changed forever.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket or any of the song lyrics I add at the beginning of each chapter.
Wherever you go
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You know I'll be there
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If you go far
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You know I'll be there
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I'll go anywhere
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So I'll see you there
- Poprocks and Coke by Green Day
The vacation to Paris had finally come to a close and everyone was home and back to their regular routines. Kyoko had taken her pictures on a digital camera, so Tohru was able to show Arisa and Saki pictures of the trip. She had already told them about Kyo, and they had said they would 'track down' Kyo if he ever did anything improper to her. Tohru, Kyoko, Kazuma, and Kyo still got together every Saturday and Wednesday night, but went to the movies on Saturdays and out to dinner on Wednesdays. New Year's had passed, and Tohru and Kyoko had spent the night at Kazuma's. Tohru and Kyo sat on the roof all night while their parents were inside watching television specials and drinking beer. January had passed without incident, nor any little moments where Tohru wouldn't hold back her feelings. Kyo had grown a little warmer towards her, but she still felt a little distant compared to the closeness she had with Arisa and Saki.
It was now February. Tohru was excited about Valentine's Day and brought chocolates for Kyoko, Kyo, Kazuma, Arisa, and Saki, all in which were packaged in generously big boxes with ribbons tied on them. "What are we going to be doing for Valentine's Day?" Tohru had asked Kyoko one morning when she was making breakfast and Kyoko was just roaming about the kitchen. "Kazuma-chan and Orange are coming, of course!" Kyoko said happily. "You know, you should invite Uo-chan and Hana-chan over, too! They haven't met Orange yet! All you do is talk about him, so they probably want to meet your new crush!" Tohru dropped a bowl of rice she was holding. "Oh, M-Mom!" she said nervously, her face now beat red. "I-I don't like Kyo-kun that way! I j-just … like him as a friend!"
"Whatever you say," Kyoko said in a sing-song voice as she stepped out of the kitchen, grinning. Tohru bent down to clean up the mess of rice, but did so in a hesitant matter due to thinking about what her mother said. Have Mom and Shishou-san been suspicious? she thought. Oh no! What if I'm that obvious! Kyo-kun must be suspicious too! That's why he's been so distant from me lately! But … what do I do that makes everyone think that I like him that way? Scooping up the rice with a paper towel and then throwing it away, Tohru realized that it must be the stammering and blushing that she constantly did around Kyo. And the smiling, too. But I can't help those things, Tohru thought again. And I can't help smiling either, because Kyo-kun makes me happy! I'm sure he must feel uncomfortable though, and that's the last thing I want him to feel when he's around me. What should I do?
Tohru never did find a resolution to her problem, for she found the remaining days before Valentine's Day flying by. On the morning of Valentine's Day, though, Kyoko announced to Tohru that there would be certain changes in their arrangements for that evening. "Tohru-chan," she said to Tohru that morning as she opened the door to Tohru's room. "Tohru-chan!" Tohru clearly hadn't heard her, for she was still sleeping, so instead Kyoko scribbled a note on a pad with a pen that was sitting on Tohru's night table. She placed the two items back in their original spots and kissed her daughter on the cheek. "Happy Valentine's Day," she whispered to her as she walked out the door.
When Tohru woke up to sunshine spilling into her room through the material of her curtains, she rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up, yawning. She looked around her room, spotting a note written on the pad on her night table. She picked it up and held it in front of her, rubbing her eyes once more since her vision was a little blurry. She then read the note aloud to herself:
"'Tohru-chan … I just received a call late last night from my boss telling me that I have to work late tonight and come in early. I know, it stinks!—'" Tohru giggled "'—So, I called Kazuma-chan and asked him if we could have our get together over at his house. I also asked him if you could go straight to his house after school (by the way, he said you could). So, I guess you can bring your cake to school and put it in the kitchen, or even drop it off at Kazuma-chan's on the way to school .Whatever's best for you. Oh, and tell Uo-chan and Hana-chan about the arrangements. I guess you can give them directions to Kazuma-chan's. Don't miss me too much tonight! I'll be at Kazuma-chan's at around six-thirty, maybe even a little later. I love you lots! And happy V-Day! … Mom.'"
Smiling to herself, Tohru placed the pad back on her night table and got out of bed. She got dressed, did her hair and then headed downstairs to make some breakfast for herself. "I hope Mom had breakfast!" she said. "I'd be so upset to know that she went to work on an empty stomach!" After preparing and eating breakfast, Tohru took her cake out of the refrigerator and got ready to go to school. She decided on letting the cake sit in the school refrigerator because she didn't want to burden Kazuma and Kyo for knocking on their door so early in the morning. Once she got to school, Tohru met up with Arisa and Saki and explained the situation to them. She gave them directions to Kazuma's house, and in return received her Valentine's Day presents from the two girls. From Arisa she received a teddy bear with a box of chocolates tied to its hands. Saki had given her a box of dark chocolates wrapped in a black box with dark purple ribbon. "Oh, thank you!" Tohru squeaked when they had given them to her. "I'm sorry that I don't have your Valentine's presents! I completely forgot about them this morning because I had to worry about the cake and everything and I—"
"Sheesh, Tohru! You can give them to us tonight!" Arisa said, laughing. "Don't worry about it. And your welcome, by the way."
"Yes, your welcome, Tohru-kun," Saki added.
The day ended up going by fairly quick. Tohru walked to Kazuma's with Arisa and Saki, just to show them where his house was, and then they both went home. They told Tohru they would be there at five o'clock, which was in an hour and a half. Tohru walked up the path to Kazuma and Kyo's home and knocked on the door. Kyo opened it and Tohru greeted him. "Happy Valentine's Day, Kyo-kun! How was your day? I'm sure we're going to have a great night tonight!" Kyo opened the door wider and let her inside, not saying a word. Tohru felt a bit of self-consciousness, for she thought he didn't greet her because of the way she's been acting around him. But when Tohru walked into the sitting room to set down her bag, the grim face she saw on the man who was sitting before the coffee table told her that something bad had happened.
"Shishou-san," Tohru started as she set down her messenger bag and gifts from Arisa and Saki. She knelt down beside the man. "What happened? Is everything okay?" Tohru hadn't noticed Kyo leaning his back against the doorframe of the opened paper sliding door, his head down and his hands in his pockets. Kazuma took a while to pick up his head and look at Tohru, but when he did, her insides turned. Kazuma placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tohru-san," he said softly. He put his head down and completed his sentence in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "But … your mother passed away in a car accident."
Kyo felt his muscles tense up. He quietly left the room. He didn't want to see Tohru's reaction, for he knew it would be too upsetting to watch.
Tohru literally felt her jaw fall. Her throat became unbearably dry, her insides grew cold, and her vision became blurry. She began to tremble as she lifted a clammy, pale hand to her mouth. She couldn't even speak. Had she heard Kazuma correctly? It couldn't be true. No, Kyoko couldn't be … that unthinkable word. Tears began to leak from Tohru's eyes. She had no idea what to do. She couldn't move, so getting up wasn't an option. She couldn't even speak, so she couldn't say anything to Kazuma. But when Tohru blinked her tears away, she saw that Kazuma had taken his hand off her shoulder and stood up. He slowly walked out of the room, leaving Tohru by herself. But to Tohru, she couldn't help but be grateful that he had left. She didn't want to look weak crying in front of Kazuma.
Hunching over, Tohru let everything out. Her hands pinned to the ground, holding her body up, she sobbed uncontrollably. Her mother was dead. Her idol. Her best friend.
Mom …
"Tohru-chaaaaaaan!"
" … You work yourself too hard, Tohru. You need a little break. … You'll have a lot of fun!"
"You shouldn't make scenes like that in public, Orange."
"Aw, come on Tohru-chan! Jump with me! A little fun won't kill you, right?"
Mom … !
"Mom …" Tohru whispered, her voice breaking. She cried continuously until she felt a hand gently place itself on her shoulder. Tohru found herself turning around, becoming face-to-face with Kyo. Kyo's face was pale and he looked like he was trying to share Tohru's pain with her. He gently wrapped his arms around Tohru's now-fragile, trembling body, holding her close to him. Tohru began to melt into the comfort of being in Kyo's arms, and she buried her face in his shoulder, her face now growing unbelievably hot. She slowly wrapped her own arms around him, and then the sobbing returned. She cried into his shirt and then more she cried, the more Kyo held her tighter. It was almost like a dream.
"Tohru," he whispered into her hair. "It's okay … Please, don't cry."
"Kyo-kun!" Tohru cried into his shirt. "Kyo-kun, what am I going to do! I … I have no home now! Mom … she can't be gone! And I didn't even get to see her today! She had to leave early this morning and left me a note … I didn't even get to see her!" Kyo unconsciously began to stroke her silky hair, his heart breaking at her words. He wanted to do everything he could do to get her out of this state. "It'll be okay. Just … don't cry like this, please," he whispered again. Tohru then picked up her face, her eyes swollen from crying, her face stained with tears. Right then and there, Kyo realized how precious Tohru actually was to him. Seeing her in this distressed state crushed his heart, and it seemed that holding her was the most logical thing to do. How come it took him so long to finally realize this?
Gently, Kyo placed a hand on Tohru's face. He wiped away her tears and then began stroking her face, staring into her eyes. "You're … too beautiful to cry," he told her with complete honesty. He felt his face grow hot, but at that moment he didn't care. He didn't care that his head was telling him it was wrong to do that to her, being that she was his father's best friend's daughter, but his heart told him that he was doing the right thing. Meanwhile, Tohru stared at Kyo, the words sinking in. He said she was beautiful? Was that possible? No … he must have been saying that to make her feel better. Despite Tohru's thoughts, she laid her head on Kyo's shoulder, tears still falling from her eyes, but her sobs weren't as loud.
Kyo and Tohru stayed like that together for the next half hour. Kyo tenderly stroked her hair, Tohru occasionally cried into his shoulder. Arisa and Saki arrived at Kazuma's on schedule and took the news better than Tohru thought. Arisa had kicked the wall and went into a small session of pulling her hair and crying while Saki just bowed down her head the whole time, yet Tohru could see the tears shining in her eyes. Tohru had also forgotten to bring over the chocolates for everyone, which had made her more upset, but everyone said that it didn't matter. Arisa and Saki were then introduced to Kyo and Kazuma, but it just didn't seem like a proper meeting without Kyoko. In fact, the whole remainder of the evening didn't seem right without her. When it was six-thirty, Tohru imagined that Kyoko would be walking through the door, cheerful and happy, but she never came. This nightmare wasn't a dream … it was actually reality, and it took Tohru until then to realize it.
Arisa and Saki had left at ten o'clock. The two girls both sat alone with Tohru in the sitting room from eight o'clock on, comforting her and reminiscing about old times with Kyoko. While they were all in this sitting room, Kyo and Kazuma were still in the kitchen cleaning up. Tohru had insisted on doing so, but Kazuma told her to spend time with her girlfriends. Normally Kyo wouldn't offer to help, but in this situation he decided it would be best if he did. Besides, he needed to talk to Kazuma about something.
As Kyo and Kazuma washed, rinsed, and dried the dishes, Kyo thought of a way to ask Kazuma his question. He didn't want to blurt it out, but he didn't want it to come out slowly. "Did you love her?" he finally asked. It wasn't the way he wanted to question Kazuma, but it seemed good enough. From the corner of Kyo's eye he could see Kazuma grin a bit. "You mean, Kyoko-chan?—" Kyo nodded "—Well, in a way, I actually did," Kazuma confessed. "It was always like that when we were teenagers. I never told her how I felt. But once she got married, I knew it was too late. And I moved away from Tokyo before she had Tohru-san, only because I couldn't take it. But on that day in September when I found out that Tohru-san was Kyoko-chan's daughter, I knew it was fate. When she told me that her husband had died, I kind of hoped that she was looking to re-marry, but the way she talked about him so much, I knew I couldn't force myself on her. So I never told her. But now … I wish I did." Kazuma closed his eyes and sighed deeply, refusing to let himself cry in front of his son.
Kyo was a little shocked. His father had loved Kyoko? Since when? He never noticed … he seemed to have done a pretty good job not giving out any hints, but Kyo guessed that maybe that was just how adults were.
And maybe, just maybe, that was a sign.
Please don't hate me! I couldn't bare it if you all hated me for doing that to Kyoko. I'm really sorry though -cries- But let me assure you, there's a reason it happened. I understand if you're all mad at me, but the story will get better! I absolutely promise! And I start school in a week … Wow, summer vacation went by so fast! But I hope you all at least like the fluff in this chapter. At least it was fluffy, right? I'll see you all soon!
xoxo Swaying Cherry Blossoms
