Happy Holidays! I'm really sorry about this chapter being over a month late again! I guess I'll just be updating monthly now since I get home from school at 6:00, due to track. I've also had track meets, assignments due, a lot of homework, and I've been really busy over the weekend. Thank you so much for all of the reviews though! You guys are so supportive, it's great! It makes me really happy! "Unexpected" is slowly coming to an end though, sadly. I think I did okay with it being that it's kind of my first fan fiction. I'm really looking forward to writing more stories after this, so it'll probably be a month after this story's done that I'll publish a new one. I really don't think I could handle writing two stories at a time, so that's why I'm going one by one. I hope everyone had a great holiday, and please enjoy this chapter!

Title: Unexpected
Author: Swaying Cherry Blossoms
Chapter: Maintaining Consciousness
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. But, for this chapter and the previous one, the doctor is my own original character.


To keep our eyes open for just one more day

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To keep on hoping that we'll stumble on a way

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To keep our minds open for just one more day

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'Cause it's completely up to us

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To maintain consciousness

- Maintain Consciousness by Relient K

It was now two weeks after the incident, and Kazuma was still unconscious in the hospital. Kunimitsu had returned home after a week and was receiving home therapy for a strained arm. Every evening after going to the hospital, Kyo and Tohru would pay him a visit and Tohru would bring over home cooked meals for him, which Kunimitsu greatly appreciated. She also cleaned up the house for him while Kyo helped him with therapy.

"How long is it going to be until you can start doing martial arts again?" he would ask. "Oh, I don't know … I'd say a few months, maybe," Kunimitsu always responded. Kyo could see the disappointment on the man's face whenever he answered, but Kyo never said anything else after that.

Kyo and Tohru were now at the hospital on a quiet, partly sunny Tuesday afternoon. Tohru sat daintily in a chair, doing homework, while Kyo sat in another chair, looking out the window. One couldn't say that this whole situation necessarily distanced the two apart, but it definitely didn't bring them together. Every night Kyo would sit on the floor against the wall by the phone, waiting for a call from the hospital. Tohru would clean, cook, do homework, then she would sit next to Kyo and lean her head on his shoulder and he would entwine their fingers together, but it usually didn't get more intimate than that.

The sound of the steady beep that emitted from the heart monitor filled the room, causing Kyo's muscles to tense; he hated that thing. He was always afraid that at any moment the beep would never stop, that Kazuma would be gone forever. He would never be able to see the man who saved him from his father ever again …

Tohru, concerned about Kyo's sudden silence, put down her book and gently placed a hand on his right knee. "Kyo-kun, are you alright?" she asked with a tender voice. Kyo sighed, running a hand over his face. "Yeah I'm fine … I just … I just don't want to lose someone important to me again. First I lose my parents, now I might lose Shishou. Who's next … ?" Tohru moved her chair closer to Kyo's. "Kyo-kun, don't worry! Shishou's going to be fine! He—"

There was a rustling of pillows and sheets, causing Kyo and Tohru to both turn their heads in the direction of Kazuma's bed.

Kazuma was awake.

"Shi—!" Tohru started. Kyo cupped a hand over her mouth, bringing a finger to his lips, indicating that Tohru should be quiet. They both stared in awe as Kazuma slowly turned his head on the pillow, but he didn't open his eyes. Kyo and Tohru were grateful enough that he was finally conscious though.

"Should I get the doctor?" Tohru whispered. Kyo thought about it for a minute. He thought about how all of the nurses would come in with the doctor, and then he and Tohru would probably have to leave since the room would be too crowded, then he wouldn't be there when Kazuma actually opened his eyes. Kyo shook his head. "No, I think you should tell him once Shishou actually wakes up. Knowing doctors, he'll probably just wake him up or something and give him a bunch of stupid tests and everything … And he probably won't let us have a moment of peace with him, either." Tohru slowly nodded and turned back to Kazuma.

Kazuma seemed to gain more consciousness over the following hour. His breathing was more frequent, his heart beat was a little faster, and he turned and moved a little more in his bed. For Kyo, every minute droned by and felt like an hour. He couldn't wait for Kazuma to wake up. He wanted to know what happened.

"Should we call Kunimitsu-san and tell him that Shishou-san's conscious now?" Tohru asked Kyo after she finally finished her homework. Kyo didn't think that was such a bad idea, so he nodded. "Wait … Do you know his phone number?" he asked. Tohru shook her head. "No, I'm sorry Kyo-kun … I've never called his house before."

"Dammit," Kyo muttered under his breath. Tohru bit her lip, looking around the room as if Kunimitsu's phone number was written on the wall somewhere, then she thought of a way she could get it. "I know Kyo-kun! How about I ask the nurses if they have it, since he used to be a patient here?"

Kyo pondered this for a minute and then asked, "Why would they have his home phone number? No one lives with him, so it wasn't like they could have called anyone when he was here."

"Yes, you're right … But … Oh! They might have it to call him up now, to see how he's doing maybe?" Kyo gave this a thought too, and thought that it probably was possible, so he nodded. "Okay, go check." Tohru jumped out of her seat, a smile on her face. "Okay Kyo-kun! I'll be right back!" She bent down and kissed Kyo on the cheek before she exited the room.

Kyo felt the heat rise up to his face, the same way it used to before they had even started dating.

Despite the whole incident, his feelings for her were still as strong. If not, even maybe stronger, being that she was so supportive.

Kyo leaned his elbow on the arm of his chair and rested his chin in his hand as he stared at Kazuma's sleeping form. Kazuma looked peaceful, and Kyo wondered if he was dreaming or not. What was he seeing? Was he aware of where he was? Did he remember what happened? Right at that moment, Kyo wanted nothing more than to wake Kazuma up; to talk to him, to see if he remembered anything. But most of all, Kyo wanted to just wake up from this nightmare … Until he realized that it was reality.

A few minutes later, Tohru entered the room, waving a piece of paper in her hand with the same smile on her face. "They had it, Kyo-kun!" She sat down in her chair and handed Kyo the piece of paper with a set of numbers scribbled on it. Kyo scanned the familiar telephone number and then he got up and walked over to the phone, which was set on Kazuma's side table. He punched in the numbers on the reciever and stuffed his free hand in his pocket as he listened to the ring of Kunimitsu's phone on the other end of the line. Finally, Kunimitsu answered, and he and Kyo began talking.

Tohru watched Kyo as he talked, a grin on her face. She admired how strong her boyfriend had been during Kazuma's stay at the hospital.

I think I'll cook a nice, big meal for Kyo-kun once we get home. Then I'll treat him to something special! I don't know what that's going to be though, but Kyo-kun deserves it!

"… Tohru-san?"

Tohru turned to the direction of the voice, only to see Kazuma facing her, his eyes barely open. Tohru's own eyes widened. "Shishou-san!"

Kyo dropped the phone. "What!"

"Oh … Kyo …" Kazuma said weakly as he tried to sit up and look at Kyo over the side of his bed. "You're here … too." He slowly dropped back down to the mattress and closed his eyes again. His voice was very hoarse and his lips were extremely chapped.

Kyo picked up the receiver he had dropped. "Shishou just woke up, we'll call you back later," he said quickly to Kunimitsu before hanging up. Tohru was already giving Kazuma some water when Kyo sat back down in his seat. He felt more relieved now, like an extremely heavy weight was lifted off of his shoulders. He even felt himself grinning a bit.

Kazuma released the tip of the straw he was drinking from. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, yearning to sleep, but also wanting to speak with Kyo and Tohru, so he put in the effort to opening his eyes to look at the two teenagers. "What … happened?" he asked them. "Why am I here?"

Tohru felt herself getting teary-eyed from happiness, but also for seeing Kazuma in the condition he was in. She dabbed her eyes with her sleeve as Kyo said, "The doctor said that you and Kunimitsu broke up a fight at a dojo and—"

"How is … Kunitmitsu?"

"He's fine … He went home a week ago."

"A … week? How … How long have I been here?"

"Two weeks … You don't remember anything that happened?" The look on Kazuma's face told Kyo right away that he didn't remember anything, causing Kyo to feel disappointed. He wanted to know what had happened, but he was grateful that Kazuma was now up.

"It's okay Shishou-san," Tohru said. "You'll eventually remember! Mom—" Tohru's face softened at the thought of Kyoko, being that she hadn't talk about her in a while "—always used to watch shows with people getting into all kinds of accidents, but they would eventually remember what happened, so I'm sure you will too!"

Kyo felt relieved at Tohru's words because of the determination she had used when she spoke, and the fact that Tohru never lied. She always knew what she was talking about.

Kazuma smiled faintly at Tohru and closed his eyes. "I'm … very tired," he said wearily. "I feel like … like I was hit … by something hard."

"Yeah, well, you'll feel better soon," Kyo said. "Hang in there, Shishou."

"Kyo-kun, should we tell the doctor now?"

"Tell the doctor ... what?" Kazuma inquired, his eyes now opened. "Tell the doctor that you're, uh, awake," Kyo told him. "That is, if you don't mind!" Tohru added.

"Oh … I don't mind," Kazuma said. Tohru nodded and looked at Kyo, who was staring at Kazuma. "Well, they'll come in and they'll probably wanna give you all these dumb tests and everything, and you probably won't get a moment of peace for a while … Are you sure?"

Kazuma nodded.

Kyo sighed and got up. He laid a hand on Tohru's shoulder. "I'll be right back," he said as he headed toward the door. Then, he walked out of the room.

Tohru and Kazuma both sat there, letting an awkward silence fill the room. Tohru played with the hem of her skirt and was distracted by it until she heard Kazuma's voice. "How has … Kyo been?" Tohru looked up and took in Kazuma's question. "Ah," she started, "Kyo-kun has been handling everything very well! We've been visiting Kunimitsu-san after we come here, and Kyo helps him with therapy. He's very strong!"

Kazuma didn't know whether or not Tohru meant by physically strong or emotionally strong, but he grinned at her and nodded. "Good … That's good … He always was."

"Yes," Tohru agreed, smiling. I love him … I seem to love him more and more each day.

As if on cue, Kyo walked in, followed by Ichiro Tsutsumi and a few nurses. Tsutsumi looked satisfied when he saw that Kazuma was indeed up, and he searched through his clipboard before speaking. "Good afternoon, Sohma-san," he greeted Kazuma. "My name is Ichiro Tsutsumi, and I'm your doctor. My nurse staff and I have been monitoring you for the past two weeks, and I'm happy to see that you're finally making progress. Right now, I'm going to do some simple tests—" Kyo rolled his eyes "—to check your blood level and a few other things. After that, I'm open to any questions you might have."

Kazuma nodded. "Alright," he said hoarsely. Tsutsumi then turned to Kyo and Tohru. "I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "But I'm going to have to ask you two to leave. Visitors aren't allowed in the room while tests are in progress. But for a few tests, Sohma-san will have to be moved to the third floor, so you'll be able to join us down there momentarily." Tohru nodded. "Okay, that's no problem!" She took Kyo's hand in hers. "Bye Shishou-san, and good luck! We'll see you soon!" Kazuma waved weakly as Kyo and Tohru stepped out of the room.

"I told you," Kyo said icily when they were sitting in the visitor's lounge. Tohru was at one of the vending machines, picking out a snack for her and Kyo to share. She finally picked out a box of Chocolate Pocky, retrieved it from the machine, and sat down next to Kyo, who was slouched in his seat. "I know Kyo-kun," she said sincerely. "But these tests will be able to see if there's anything severely wrong with Shishou-san that they didn't notice when he first got submitted here, or if anything developed over the past two weeks. I'm sure they won't take that long, and I'm sure nothing will be wrong!" She opened the box of Pocky and divided the chocolate covered sticks, giving Kyo one half and leaving the rest for herself. Kyo stared down at the Pocky in his lap, suddenly realizing that Tohru was right, and that there was nothing to be worried about.

Fortunately, there was nothing else wrong with Kazuma. On the third floor he went through some X-Rays and additional tests, all coming back negative. Unfortunately for Kyo though, all of the test procedures took about four and a half hours. Waiting made Kyo want to rip out his hair.

Kazuma was able to go home ten days later, and was receiving therapy from Kunimitsu's therapist. Kunimitsu was able to visit Kazuma and he filled him in on what had happened, although Kazuma's mind was still blank.

"I don't understand," he said. "I just can't remember."

"I don't think it's an experience you'd want to remember, anyway," Kunimitsu stated.

What had happened was this: Kazuma was invited to a last-minute get together with his students, Kunimitsu, and a few other martial arts teachers at a dojo. Kazuma thought that Kyo, Tohru, Arisa, and Saki were all sleeping at the time—Kyo didn't know what could have given him that idea—so he left a note saying that he would be out for a few hours. Apparently Kazuma had forgotten to tear the note off of the pad he had written on, so that's why Kyo never found the note. About two hours into the get together, two students had a big argument that resulted in a fight not only with just punching and kicking, but with weapons as well. Kazuma and Kunimitsu didn't want anything serious to happen, so they tried to break up the fight, but got injured.

"And those guys didn't even bother visiting you two in the hospital?" Kyo demanded. "Nope," Kunimitsu answered. "Those bastards," Kyo said in disgust.


I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The next chapter is going to be drama-free and will have lots of fluff! I thought it was about time for a fluffy chapter. Once again, I'm really sorry about the lack of updating, so I guess I'm just going to be updating monthly now. I hope you all had a great holiday, and Happy New Year! See you all in January!

xoxo Swaying Cherry Blossoms