A/N: I'M SO INCREDIBLEY SORRY FOR MAKING EVERY-ONE WAIT SO LONG FOR THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE, I HOPE YOU CAN FIND IT IN YOUR HEARTS TO FORGIVE ME!

I know it's been a while since I updated, but this is only because I have been suffering through an incredibly difficult case of writers block. Seriously. It took me, like four days to write half a page. Half a page! (sigh), Well, I finally sat myself down and was all, "Okay, Joss, I don't care how long it takes- you're not leaving this spot until you finish that chapter. " Which is basically what happened. And after four hours of blankly staring at the computer screen, the creative juices finally started flowing. Hopefully, it won't take half as long as it did this time to get the next part up. Again, sorry for the delay!

WARNING: BE PREPARED—THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN SOME UNFORESEEN DEVELOPMENTS!


DISCAIMER: I don't own Fruits Basket….except in my head…but then, I also own a magic talking cat in my head too, so I'm not quite so sure how realistic my imagination is….

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Chapter 12: A Mystical, Mysterious Man
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Tohru jumped nearly a foot in the air, she was so startled. Kyo turned to see who had interrupted them.

The newcomer walked up to Kyo, his face was shadowed by his hood of his grey-green robe, but his voice was deep and clear.

"Ahm." He coughed, "I hope you two don't mind my asking what in the world you are doing shouting at the top of your lungs on my property?"

Kyo stared at him incredulously; completely incapable of speech.

Tohru however, immediately rushed a deep bow. "We are so sorry to have intruded, sir."

Kyo's motor skills seemed to snap back into place at seeing Tohru's bow and he swiftly remembered the reason they were arguing in the first place.

"You." he shoved an accusatory finger in the man's direction and waggled it at him, "Why the hell didn't you open the damned door?" He narrowed his eyes angrily. "And don't tell me that you couldn't hear us. I'm sure as hell that we could be heard for miles! Geez! What a rude guy you are- the least you could have done was acknowledge us!"

At this point the man reached into the folds of his robe to rummage around for something.

Kyo frowned, thinking he was up to some trick.

He pulled out two small balls of wool and held them up in the palm of his hand for Kyo to inspect. "This," he said matter-of-factly, "is the reason I couldn't hear you." He placed them back into his pocket. "However," he added "recently the sound of someone screeching became too loud for even those plugs to drown out." He sadly shook his head and said quietly, as if he were saying it to himself only, "Even on my day off, I don't get a moments peace to meditate."

Kyo rolled his eyes. "That's still no excu—"

"I'm sooooo terribly sorry!" Tohru interrupted by dropping to the ground and kneeling over. "It's my fault that we disturbed you when we did. You have every right to be angry! Please, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Her voice was tinged with sincere regret and desperation.

The man chuckled and bent down to pull Tohru back to her feet. "I'm sure," he said, eyeing her once she found her footing, "that we can work something out…"

Kyo twitched and balled his fists.

"Besides," he continued, "I should be the one asking if there is anything I can do for you." He said, his eyes still all over her.

The man ignored Kyo, despite the fact that he presently looked as though he was going to blow a gasket if he didn't get some answers, and his grubby paws off of Tohru. Instead, he reached out for a very confused and distraught Tohru to bring her delicate hand to his lips.

"My lady," he murmured magnanimously, "This beast of a man was not giving you any trouble…was he?"

Tohru turned deep red. "I...I…I-"

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Kyo roared, unable to contain himself any longer. Kyo stalked over the pair pushed Tohru away and roughly shoved the man away from her, knocking him into the dirt.

For a moment the man stay there, obviously too surprised by Kyo's sudden actions to respond. Then, he burst out laughing. When the chuckles subsided, he stood up, brushing away the leaves and mulch on his clothing. Rising, his hood fell away.

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Tohru gasped.

Kyo scowled.

A young man, a little older then Kyo perhaps, stood near the entrance of the house with that wolfish grin playing across his lips. Kyo had never really seen anyone that looked quite like him before. There was only one word could describe the man's appearance- golden. Though most of his body was concealed by the course material of his long robe, Kyo surmised that every inch of his skin was the same tan color that covered his hands and face. From the roots of his honey-blonde hair, to the tips of his fingers, he was golden all over. The only part of him that wasn't bronzed, were his clear green eyes.

This guy had to be a foreigner. There was absolutely no way that Kyo would believe otherwise.

Tohru was apparently thinking the exact same thing.

"Are you from the America?" she asked curiously.

He raised a blonde brow. "A-mare-icka? …No…I'm not….But, what is more important here," he said, giving her another one of his lethally roguish smiles, "Is who you are, my dear."

"Eh? Um-um-um-er-!" she stammered. "Honda-a-a ss-an…?"

"Well then, Honda-san," her heart skipped a beat as her said her name. "It seems that you may have tried to seek me out earlier to no avail. To make up for that, is there any way I may be of assistance to you? I will endower to do what I can."

Kyo gritted his teeth. Notice that he said assistance to her, not Kyo.

"Err, well, if it's not too much trouble, would you mind letting use your telephone? We were um," she quickly glanced at Kyo-kun, hesitant to breach the touchy subject, "-lost, and we need to let someone know where we are."

The man tilted his head. "Tell-ee-fone?"

Tohru nodded enthusiastically.

He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, erm, I don't believe I own a 'tell-ee-fone'…sorry."

Kyo-kun's jaw dropped. "Don't own a phone? How the hell is it that you don't have a ow--!" Kyo-jumped when Tohru subtly stepped on his foot to silence him. She hated to do it- Kyo-kun was probably still furious at her for before- but at the moment, it seemed like the only words coming out of his mouth were insults. Since this man had kindly offered to help them, she wasn't about to let Kyo-kun go on and offend him.

Kyo watched Tohru with a mixture of shock and unease.

"Um, "she said hopefully to the man, "Then, would you be able to direct us to the nearest town?"

"Absolutely. But I need to get my things together first."

Tohru frowned. "Why is that?"

He walked back to the cabin. "I'm coming with you, of course! Just give me a few moments?"

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"Coming with us--?" Kyo sputtered when the door shut behind him.

But Tohru happily ignored him- as she prone to do whenever she did not agree with something. Though when she did it, it came off as her being too ignorant to listen to anyone else. But on the contrary, Tohru was a very stubborn girl and her ignoring of others as the subtlest and most polite way to disagree.

'Even so…I feel so rebellious, today! First standing up to Kyo-kun, his foot, and now this!' Tohru sighed. 'I hope he is not going to be too upset with me though.'

He'll get over it.

'Wow…this feels so…so…wicked….' Tohru secretly relished the rare emotion.

Just then, the man re-emerged from behind the flimsy door with a burlap sack swung over his shoulder. "Shall we?" he asked and offered Tohru his arm.

Tohru blushed and awkwardly took it. "….T-thank you…" The group of three- four if you included Kyon-kichi- silently walked through the dense forest. Tohru thought it rather odd to live in such an isolated place, but hey, you know what they say; - 'to each his own.' She glanced behind too make sure Kyo-kun and Kyon-kichi were following them. They were slowly dragging behind, Kyo-kun kicking up clumps of dirt with his shoes; his hands in his pockets and the kitten, bouncing playfully behind.

"Um," She said turned to the robed man to ease the tension, "I'm sorry, but somehow I must have forgotten my manners. I didn't really catch your name--?"

He smiled. "You may call me Ryuu-san."

"Ryuu-shi, I-"

He waved her away, "Please…'shi' sounds so very informal."

"Ryuu-sama, I was wondering…"

Ryuu laughed and pointed to his face. "I was wondering when you would ask…"

Tohru smiled weakly "Oh! I'm sorry…It's just, you look very, um, distinctive"

He grinned, "You don't see too many people with eyes like these, do you? Yes…I seem to get that a lot."

Tohru giggled. "I imagine you do."

"So," Ryuu said after awhile, "What were you two doing wandering around in that forest anyway? There's nothing for miles from which the direction you came."

"Um," Tohru said, "Well, that is, I'm not particularly sure exactly where we were going, but, somehow we ended up taking a few wrong turns I suppose. And before we knew it, we got caught in that terrible storm awhile ago."

Ryuu suddenly frowned. "The storm?"

Tohru nodded. "Uh huh- luckily, we were able to find shelter in a cave…so we waited it out there and once it passed over we started walking again until we bumped into your, um, home."

Ryuu frowned deeper, so deep that Tohru could see a thick line form in the center of his forehead. Not that it was able to detract from his handsomeness in the least.

"…You were caught in the storm." he stated, as if he wanted to be sure that he didn't misunderstand.

Tohru tilted her head, a little confused at his reaction, but she didn't press him. She simply said, "Yes…?"

Ryuu sighed and ran a hand through his thick blonde hair agitatedly. "I see." He said quietly; then muttered something that Tohru couldn't quite decipher to himself. Tohru watched him. He looked rather upset over something, but she couldn't imagine what she could have said to agitate him so.

Tohru opened her mouth to apologize for whatever she had said or done to offend him, when he cut her off by abruptly looking up and flashing a dazzling smile. "Well," he said, in a completely different tone form before, "Lucky I found you when I did, eh?"

Tohru was too startled by his sudden change of mood to do anything but nod.

This man, she decided, was definitely an odd one.

So what's new? You've also met your fair share of odd people in your life, haven't' you?

Tohru was forced to agree. She had, in her time, met quite a few interesting people- people she would have never expected to grow so close to in such a short period of time. But there was no denying the fact that she was immensely glad that she had met them, however unexpectedly. She was talking about the Sohmas, of course. She felt that over the time that they'd known each other, she'd developed a strong bond with most of the Sohmas. Tohru considered them family, even. She smiled inwardly. Who would have thought that she'd ever come to be so close to a clan that was part of a curse that made it's members transform into animals when they came under a great deal of stress or were hugged by a member of the opposite sex? The Sohmas had to be, by far the oddest group she'd ever encountered, and probably ever would.

But, Yuki, Kyo-kun, and Shigure- they had all been so kind to her. Tohru didn't know what she would have done if they hadn't been there for her. One day, she would return that kindness. And she knew just how she was going to do that, too. Not long ago, Tohru had made the firm decision that she would do everything she possibly could to help break the Sohma family curse.

'I'm going to try not to give up until I find a way!' She solemnly resolved.

'No', Tohru corrected herself; she wouldn't allow herself to give up until she found a way.

'In the mean time', she thought,'I have to give Yuki and Kyo-kun all of the support I can.'

Tohru gulped.

Thinking about Kyo-kun only served to bring back more memories of the kiss they'd shared earlier that day. The feel of Kyo-kun's mouth slanting across hers had excited her beyond her wildest dreams, certainly more than she would ever admit. Tohru hesitantly touched her own mouth in astonished wonder. She never thought herself capable of feeling such foreign emotions. It was enough to make her head spin.

She imagined Kyo-kun's tall, tan figure and unknowingly flushed a little. Tohru had always known that she felt a certain measure of attraction towards Kyo-kun, but she thought that it was only natural, considering how incredibly good-looking he was. She was human, after all. But never had she felt this….this…emotion before…It felt as if her stomach had flipped upside down and it flooded her whole body with pleasant warmth that made her skin tingle. Tohru gasped as she came upon a heart-stopping apprehension.

Could this be…..

….lust?

Tohru immediately clapped her hand over her mouth as if she had just uttered some profane curse and shook her head madly. No, No, No! There was no way she could be experiencing something so… sinfully indecent. She refused to entertain the notion that she might be in the midst of feeling something as forbidden as…She swallowed hard……d-desire for …for…Kyo-kun…

Tohru groaned.

This simply would not do. Despite that kiss, Tohru was pretty sure that Kyo-kun hadn't the least bit romantic feelings for her. What had happened back in that storm was purely…an accidental. Yes, she convinced herself, it was an accident. There was no way he felt anything more than friendship for her. How could he? Tohru couldn't think of a single appealing feature she had that he couldn't find in another, more attractive and intelligent girl.

Ryuu quietly watched as Tohru once again, buried her face in her hands and shook her head frantically. He didn't comment on her strange behavior, but quirked a curious eyebrow. She was indeed, a very interesting young lady.

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Walking a fair distance behind the pair were Kyo and Kyon-kichi. Kyo glared at Tohru and Ryuu's inter-linked arms and unconsciously growled.

Kyon-kichi twitched his pink nose and looked up at Kyo. "Nya- is Kyo-chan mad-nya?"

"Keh!" he scoffed and kicked a small grey rock with the toe of his sneaker. "What the hell are you talking about, brat?"

The kitten padded over and stared up at his face speculatively. Finally he said with excitement, "Kyo-chan is mad, nya! Kyo-chan is jealous nya? Is that lady Kyo-chan's mate- nya?"

Kyo's eyes widened considerably and he flushed bright-cherry red.

"My-my-my-!" he sputtered.

The orange cat pranced ahead. "She must be! Your scent is all over her …mhmm! Why else would it be on her if she wasn't your mate, nya?"

"T-That's because she was wearing my sweatshirt, brat! Tohru isn't my mate! Sh-she probably smells like that 'cause of the shirt…"

'Just great." He thought miserably. 'As if this day hasn't been bad enough! Now I have to explain my actions to a cat!' But, Kyo didn't deny that the thought of Tohru as his mate made his heart speed up. Unfortunately, that could never be…

The cat looked at Kyo with his narrowed glittering gold eyes. There was something in his expression that told Kyo that he was already quite aware that Tohru was not his mate and he was just rubbing it in. Either that or trying to provoke into doing something he shouldn't.

So he said shortly, "It won't work."

Kyon-kichi bristled and innocently replied "I have no idea what you mean, nya! What are you talking about, Kyo-Kyo?"

Kyo snorted to show what he thought of that. "I'm not going to fall for whatever you are planning. So just knock it off, brat."

Kyon-kichi twitched his nose, pretending to be deeply offended by Kyo's remark and pranced on ahead to join Tohru and their escort, leaving Kyo behind to sulk some more.

Wow, he's thick. Kyon-kichi thought when he caught up with Tohru and friend. Who does he think he's kidding? It's completely transparent that he already considers that human girl his mate- I mean, anyone could tell just by looking at him. He is just too darn stubborn to acknowledge it. Kichi flicked his tail. Geez, humans are so slow with these things. He should just come right out and claim her already- it would sure beat having to watch another male with her which is obviously making him mad enough to spit nails. Kichi sighed. It looks like I've got my work cut out for me…

"Keh!" Kyo suddenly said, breaking the silence. "This is taking forever. When the heck are we going to be there already?"

"Oy!" Kyo called to the others, "How much further is it?"

Ryuu scrunched his face up, thinking, and then called back, "Lets see…should be almost there-"he pointed at a cherry tree up ahead." It's just around the bend."

"Thank goodness!" Tohru exclaimed as she skipped past them and around the tree, "I don't know about you, Kyo-kun, but I'll sure be glad to get back home. I hope that Shigure hasn't—"Tohru abruptly stopped in her tracks and broke off, staring blankly ahead.

Kyo, who wasn't paying too much attention ton where he was going, almost ran right into her, but caught himself just in time and stumbled over a lopsided tree-root instead.. "Jeez," He said irritably as he regained his footing, "Don't just stop like that!" He glared up at Tohru, waiting for her to apologize profusely and swear that she would try to never let it happen again, like she always did. Instead, she just pointed with her mouth wide-open.

Grumbling about how careless girls were, Kyo turned to look in the direction she indicated. And what he saw next made his breath catch in his throat.

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A/N: Bum Bum bummmm! Seriously. I promise, the next chapter better catch everyone off guard. I was going to add it to this one, but I need to do a little research on the topic before writing it. Because I want this story to be as accurate in it's references as possible so no-one, (for whatever weird reason, ) will be offended. Another thing- I'm up to volume 19—it's not out in English yet- so I probably know a little bit more to the story then most of ya. However, I'm trying REALLY hard not to include anything that will spoil it for anyone.

Oh! And BTW, in case some of you were not already aware, Kyo CAN communicate with cats. Though in the manga, I don't think they really stress on that much- 'cept for that one time he's on the school roof and all those cats are going, "Whats wrong-nya?" ect., ect.