Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket, nyah.
A/N: Get ready Kyoru fans! There's gonna be fluff-o-mania in this chappy. Not to mention a lotta sad stuff with Kagura. But Kagura (sort of) hooks up very unexpectedly with someone else in the story. (gasp) Who will it be?
The next morning was pretty quiet, and most people giggled to themselves as they gave sidelong glances towards Machi and Yuki.
"Do you think they know?" Machi asked Yuki in a whisper.
"...I would have to guess that they do." Yuki muttered darkly. Filthy spies.
"YUN-YUN!"
"And here's the worst of them all..." Yuki sighed.
"I HAVE COME TO GIVE MY APPROVAL!" Manabe said, coming between Yuki and Machi.
"I don't need your approval!" Yuki growled.
"But of course you do!" He took Machi's hand and placed it in Yuki's. "The School Defense Corps Black Ranger has approved of this union. Please, our leader Red Ranger, take care of my faithful sister, Yellow Ranger!"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING! WE'RE NOT FREAKIN GETTING MARRIED!" Yuki snapped, pulling his hand back, blushing, as Machi blushed equally.
Suddenly, a rumble was heard in the distance and the whole hall fell quiet.
"That... noise..." Shigure twitched.
"It can only be..." Yuki whispered.
"NOOO... KAGURA!" Kyo cried, standing up to escape.
Too late.
Kagura came bursting through the back wall of the dining room, glomping Kyo. "KYO-KUUUUUNNNNN! YOUR DEAR KAGURA HAS COME TO GIVE YOU SUMMER LOVE!"
"I DON'T NEED ANY SUMMER LOVE FROM YOU!" Kyo choked from beneath her deadly grasp.
"Ah... the house..." Shigure cried. "At least I'm not the one who has to pay for repairs this time..."
Everybody except the Sohmas, who were accustomed to this, stared with looks of horror.
"Orangey has a girlfriend?" Uotani asked, laughing.
"YES!" (Kagura)
"NO!" (Kyo)
"YES." Kagura glared, eyes glowing.
"W-whatever you say..." Kyo gulped.
"Kids these days sure have strange relationships." Mayuku scoffed.
"I wouldn't exactly call this... a relationship..." Hatori explained.
"Yes, yes." Ayame chimed in. "It's more like, imprisonment. Poor Kyon-kichi."
"I see how it is." Mayuki laughed. "Like I said, kids these days."
XXX
"Kyo-kun, will you help me clear the wash the dishes?" Tohru asked Kyo as she cleared the table. Kyo was just about the only person she asked anything of.
"Uh... y-yeah..." Kyo said, prying Kagura off of him. "Would you go hang around somewhere else for a while?" He told her, frustrated.
"WHAT WAS THAT?"
"N-nothing..."
So Kagura stood watch at the doorway of the kitchen as Kyo and Tohru washed the dishes.
"Kyo-kun!" Tohru giggled as Kyo splashed her with water. "Cut it out!"
"All right, here." Kyo took a towel and wiped her face.
She blushed slightly. "Thanks."
Kyo blushed too. "No problem."
"NO THIS WILL NOT DO AT ALL!" Kagura burst between them.
"WHAT THE HELL?"
"K-Kagura-san!"
"I cannot allow you to have Kyo-kun without a formal fight!" Kagura said, turning on Tohru.
"W-what?" Tohru blushed and stepped back.
"You feel the same way I do about him, don't you?" Kagura demanded.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Tohru stammered, turning red.
"TOHRU! DON'T LIE TO ME!" Kagura said, her boarish side suddenly taking over as she slapped Tohru.
"KAGURA!" Kyo yelled, pushing her away from Tohru.
"N-no, Kyo-kun, it's okay." Tohru said, walking up to Kagura. "What do you want to do?"
"A contest!" Kagura said. "To see who is better suited for Kyo-kun. Will you accept? Whoever wins, gets Kyo-kun."
An unreadable expression crossed Tohru's face before it took on a determined look. "I... I accept your challenge Kagura-san."
Kagura grinned. "All right! This challenge comes in four parts. Ichi! Cooking. Ni! Cleaning. San! Serving. Shi! Kids. Are you ready, Tohru-kun?"
"H-hai!" Tohru nodded.
Both women raced out the door to go shopping for lunch, leaving a stunned Kyo in the kitchen. "W-what just happened?"
"ALLLL RIGHT!" Manabe announced into the mic (from the karaoke machine they randomly found in the attic). "LET'S BEGIN WITH PROJECT LOVE-LOVE-KYON!"
Cheers exploded from the fans (the rest of the house who had come to watch the fun).
"SINCE WHEN DID THIS TURN INTO A GAMESHOW?" Kyo demanded hopelessly from where they had tied him to a post as the prize.
"For this first round Tohru-san and Kagura-san will face off in making the best rice, cod, and miso soup for Kyon!" Manabe continued, ignoring him. "Our judges will be Sohma Shigure, Uotani Ari-chan, annnddd Toudou Kimi!"
"Engarde!" Shigure waved.
"WHY ARI-CHAN?" Uotani roared.
"YAY! Kimi is a JUDGE!" Kimi cheered.
"Are the contestants ready?" Manabe asked, turning to Kagura and Tohru, who had put on their aprons, ingredients spread in front of them. Both nodded. "OKAY THEN ON THE COUNT OF FIVE! Ichi... Ni... San... Shi... GOOOO!"
Both of them began chopping vegetables, boiling water, and doing other cooking stuff frantically. The onlookers watched in amazement. Kagura worked like a monster, hacking away at the vegetables with a red glow in her eyes, while Tohru worked carefully and patiently with a determined look in her eyes.
"Wow, they're both on fire..." Yuki observed, munching popcorn.
Machi nodded, a popsicle hanging from her mouth.
After a little time, the two presented their dishes. Tohru's was neatly done, while Kagura's half hung out of her plate.
"Uh... which brave one is going to taste Kagura's?" Kimi asked, cringing sligtly.
"I vote the pervert." Uotani replied, pushing Shigure forward.
"Why me?" Shigure sobbed, tentatively picking at the cod with his chopsticks. He took a bite and blinked for a moment, before his face turned blue. "Ex...cuse me..." He muttered before running to the bathroom. Violent vomiting was heard from outside.
"OOKKKAYYY... It's safe to say Tohru-kun won that round. We'll be back after these breif messages from our sponsors."
"What sponsors?"
Five minutes later:
"We are pleased to inform you, that Sohma Shigure-san has been taken care of, and is now in bed recovering from food poisoning. And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. ROUND TWO!" Manabe announced. Each will have to clean their own half of the hallway. Whoever finishes first and shiniest, wins that round! Our judges will be... Sohma Yun-Yun, Sohma Momiji, and the master of shiny-ness himself, Sohma Ayame!"
"Why me?" Yuki grumbled, having been dragged to the judges table and tied to his chair.
"I suppose I AM the master of all things that shine!" Ayame laughed.
"ORDER IN THE COURT!" Momiji demanded. Yuki leaned over and whispered something in his ear, making Momiji's eyes open in surprise. "You mean I'm not that kind of a judge? But I wanted to do the thing with the giant hammer..." Momiji slumped back in his chair disappointedly.
"Okay. Are the contestants ready?" Manabe turned to Tohru and Kagura, who were stationed on opposite ends of the hallway, each with a mop in hand. They nodded. "Okay! Ichi... Ni... San... Shi... GOOO!"
Both Kagura and Tohru set off down the hallway, mopping the floors on their way. Of course, Kagura, with her sudden brute strength, finished the floors in half the time Tohru did, speeding around. Both, they had concluded, had equal shininess, and since Kagura was faster, she won the round.
"ROUND THREE: SERVING! In this round, Tohru-san will serve our first judge, Sohma Hatori, and Kagura-san will serve our second judge, Sohma Hatsuharu. They will be judged by their hostess skills and serving their judges tea. All right, serve away, girls!" Manabe said.
Tohru, being the klutz she was, spilled tea, and dropped the first cup, breaking it, and had to recieve a second cup. Kagura did the job cleanly and perfectly, and therefore won the round.
"OKAY, IT'S OUR FINAL ROUND! How good they are with kids! IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS!" Manabe shouted, his voice resonating loudly.
"I swear, they can hear us in Paris." Yuki sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"Our judges will be Sohma Hiro for Kagura-san and Sohma Kisa for Tohru-san! Now. The final count down. EVERYONE!"
"ICHI! NI! SAN! SHI... GOOOOOOO!" Everyone yelled in unison.
"Did I say Paris? I meant Mars." Yuki grumbled.
Of course, Kisa was very satisfied with Tohru and they had lots of fun. Hiro, however, complained that Kagura bored him to death, and when he told her that, she proceeded in trying to beat him up. Obviously, Tohru won the round.
"AND IT COMES DOWN TO A TIE! OH THE ANTICIPATION! And now... the final tie-breaking surprise... the winner will be... WHOEVER IS CHOSEN... BY KYON HIMSELF!" Manabe said, pointing to the post that Kyo had been tied to.
"H-huh?" Kyo said as soon as they ungagged him. He smiled triumphantly. "Well, in that case... I choose... Tohru!" He said, smiling and looking at Tohru, and then glancing nervously at Kagura, waiting for her to beat the crap out of him.
Kagura stared at him for a second, taking a moment for his words to sink in. "Oh..." Tears started leaking from her eyes. "Kyo-kun... after all these years... I suppose... I understand... but... I... I won't lose!" With that she ran out, sobbing.
"Kagura-san..." Tohru called after her, but she had already ran through the wall and out into the woods.
("The house..." Shigure sobbed "The beautiful house...")
"Wow." Manabe said, resuming his announcer duties. "Well, with that stormy conclusion, I pronounce, TOHRU-SAN AS THE VICTOR!" Manabe laughed, lifting Tohru's hand into the air before placing it in Kyo's. "Please, be happy..." He said, tears forming in his eyes.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WITH YOU?"
Hatori and Mayuko watched them from afar, sighing.
"You were right about one thing..." Mayuko chuckled. "There's never a dull moment around here. You've sure got an interesting family."
Hatori laughed. "Sometimes I wonder whether they're a gift or a curse."
Kyo and Tohru retired to the back porch together after the excitement had died down, leaning on the wall and looking into the trees.
"I wonder if Kagura-san is okay..." Tohru said softly, looking guilty.
"You know Kagura, she's strong. She'll be fine." Kyo said, smiling. "If she wasn't beating me up all the time, I might even like her."
"Ano... Kyo-kun..." Tohru said hesitantly. "Why... did you choose me?"
Kyo blushed. "W-well... um... because... well, do you think I'd rather choose Kagura?" He stammered.
Tohru nodded. "I see."
"Well... why did you choose to compete?" Kyo asked.
"Well... because... well, Kagura-san, you know? And my other reason... that's a S-E-C-R-E-T!" She giggled, pressing one finger to her lips.
"Come on, tell me!" Kyo said, nudging her.
"Nope!" Tohru said, crossing her arms. Kyo finally gave up, and Tohru closed his eyes and leaned on his shoulder.
"T-Tohru, what...?"
"Kyo-kun... can I sleep like this like we did that time in the woods? I... liked it... Kyo-kun is always... so warm." She said, smiling.
Kyo blushed, but smiled warmly. "Okay... but just for a little while..." he replied, leaning his head on her's.
"You win, Tohru-kun."
Both of them opened their eyes to see Kagura standing before them, a somber expression on her face.
"K-Kagura-san..."
"Tohru-kun... you can... have Kyo-kun. He doesn't belong to me anymore. I know that you will be much better suited for him than I ever was." Kagura laughed, tears coming from her eyes. "Please... be happy. I... I'm going out for a while. I'll be back." She waved, and walked off, still smiling.
Kyo and Tohru watched her leave, blinking in surprise.
Kagura walked down the street, of the small town, wiping her eyes. It's true. Tohru really is better for Kyo-kun. Even though she doesn't admit it, she loves him more than I ever could. And Kyo-kun... Kyo-kun never smiles at me the way he smiles at her. I know... he loves her too. With these thoughts, Kagura walked casually into a convenience store, thinking she would buy herself a drink. When she walked in, she saw a sandy-haired boy sitting at the counter, looking utterly bored.
"Oh, I know you!" Kagura lit up in recognition. "You go to Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, and Tohru-kun's school! You're the one who showed me where their classroom was that time I visited!" She said walking to the counter. "What brings you all the way here?"
"My summer home's around here. This is my summer job." The boy replied, scowling. "What's your name again?"
"Sohma Kagura! Oh... forgive me for not asking before, but what is your name?" Kagura asked.
"Sakuragi Naohito." Naohito replied shortly.
"I see..."
Both of them looked off into the distance, lost in their own thoughts.
After a moment, Kagura spoke. "What're you thinking about?"
"Unrequited love." Naohito replied, sighing. "You?"
"Same... unrequited love." Kagura replied, smiling slightly. She looked at him, who turned to look at her as well. "So, are you busy after your shift here?" She asked.
"No... actually, it ends in about five minutes." He said, looking at his watch.
"Wanna grab a bite to eat after?" Kagura asked casually. "We can exchange sob stories." She added jokingly.
Naohito smiled slightly. "All right."
YAY! I like this chappy too. Hinted couple! Ahhh I'm so inspired! You'll be hearing from me again soon! REVIEW!
