Disclaimer: I don't own Fruits Basket. (Doesn't mean I don't love the characters like they're my own children)

AN: It's happening people! The cat (well, I guess the cow in this case) is out of the bag!

In other news, I really struggled with writing this chapter (Hatsuharu is difficult), so a reivew and maybe some advice would be great. Criticism? Help? Mutual writer's-block suffering?


There's a cow.

Why is there a cow?

What is going on?

"There's no time to explain. Honda-san, please wrap your arms around my neck to keep me from changing back. Kyo, put Yuki on my back. Murasaki-san, I need to ask you a question."

The cow is talking.

"Y-Yes, what do you need?" Murasaki asks, trying very hard to ignore the fact that she is talking to a cow.

The cow, who she realizes must be Haru because it has Haru's voice, looks her dead in the eye. Even swimming in her current sea of confusion, Murasaki can sense the seriousness in Haru's tone.

"Murasaki, I need to know that we can trust you. You can tell no one of this. Especially for Yuki's sake. So, can we trust you to keep this to yourself?" Haru asks, as Yuki is being draped over his back. By now Yuki is unconscious and breathing raggedly.

Murasaki's heart clenches at the sight.

"Yes. I'll keep it secret."

"Good. We'll explain the rest once Yuki is okay. For now, finish your run like nothing has happened."

And just like that, the group of teens, led by a vow, make their way up the grassy hillsides and onto the main road. Already, Murasaki can tell they're turning heads.

~.~

She is alone with her thoughts.

I just talked to a cow.

Murasaki replays the moment in her mind a million times over as she, too, climbs up to the main road and continues her run, her pace completely thrown off.

The Soma family has always been mysterious. I mean, Kyo and Yuki were so strange during that visit with Uou and Hana, and then the-

The realization hits her so hard, she nearly trips.

What if they're a family of werecows? Is that why Haru said it would be a pain if Yuki transformed in the back seat of a taxi?

Murasaki turns a corner to find herself back at school. At the front gate, Hana is playing old maid with some boys from class.

Murasaki smiles, waving hello briefly, before ducking into the girl's locker room. This is too much to process whilst attempting to remain calm.

Tohru must know. They reacted totally differently with her than with me. And besides, she lives with them.

Does Kyo turn into a cow too? Does Haru's hair have anything to do with his werecow form? If so, why is Kyo's hair orange?

Is Kyo an orange werecow?

~.~

It's a wonder Murasaki manages to get home without being run over, her mind is so occupied.


Back at the Soma house, on either side of the room where Yuki is resting, Kyo and Tohru fall into an uneasy silence as Shigure leaves to pick up their belongings from school.

Tohru is the first to try and break that silence.

"I think we should tell Shigure-" Tohru offers timidly, only to get shot down by Kyo immediately.

"Idiot, we can't tell Shigure. If we tell Shigure, that bastard is sure to tell Akito, and then Murasaki won't be the only idiot getting her memory erased," Kyo spits out. His eyes sharpen into a glare, and for a moment, Tohru looks like she might want to protest, but settles for remaining silent.

Some part of Kyo breathes a sigh of relief that she's not volunteering to get her mind wiped as well. He wouldn't put it past her to blame the whole situation on herself.

"Kyo's right. We can't tell Shigure," Haru says as he enters the room, back in human form and pulling on his jacket. It looks like he's calmed down. Back to regular Haru, then. "Murasaki-san seems like a good person, and Yuki seems to care for her a lot. It would probably kill him if she was forced to forget everything," Haru sighs, looking down at the boy lying in bed, still unconscious.

How much has he come to love this Murasaki girl? And is it worth the cost?

"Saki-chan really is a good person. I know I'm not the one with the secret, so maybe it's not my place to say so, but I trust her. And Yuki-kun..." Tohru's gaze joins Haru's for a moment, before she returns to facing Kyo and Haru. "Saki-chan is important to him."

Kyo lets out a heavy, frustrated sigh.

"I hate the damn rat into next week, but Tohru's right. We should trust her," he admits.

"I've trusted her since I saw the way they smiled at each other," Haru adds, the words less of an actual statement and more of a thought out loud.

~.~

There's a moment of quiet before a fourth voice breaks the silence.

"Don't let them do it."

All three of the standing teens turn to look at Yuki, who, upon regaining consciousness, sat up with intense urgency and is now scanning the room almost frantically.

None of them have ever seen him look this way.

"Where is Murasaki? We can't let them do that to her. She can't ... " Yuki stands up, prompting both Haru and Tohru to jump to his side, trying to get him back into bed. "Haru, where is she?" Yuki demands.

"She-"

"Cool your shit, you damn rat. She's still at school finishing her run," Kyo cuts in.

Their gazes connect, and the cat and rat enter into a fierce, unspoken argument, one full of questions gone unasked.

"Did she-"

"Yes."

"What did-"

"No one fucking knows. That's what we're going to find out."

Yuki lets out a short, exasperated, hateful sigh.

"And Shigure?"

"We're not telling him," Haru says, and Yuki immediately understands.

Beside him, Tohru takes a deep, resolved breath, and Yuki turns to look at her, only to be met with the expression of fiery determination usually reserved for her part time job or laundry or studying. It occurs to Yuki that Murasaki is Tohru's friend too, and in all likelihood, if Murasaki's memories were erased, Tohru would be wiped from them as well.

The determination in her eyes gives Yuki hope.

"So, what now?"

"Now we have to talk to her."


Murasaki doesn't hear from anyone until about 6 pm, at which point she hears a knocking on her door and Tohru's cheery voice.

When she opens the door, Murasaki is greeted by the sight of Tohru, Kyo, and Haru all at her doorstep.

"Saki-chan, we brought dinner!" Tohru says cheerfully, holding up a bag of what smells like fried rice.

"Tohru, is Yuki okay? I couldn't call- I didn't know if Shigure would pick up and I didn't know if anyone else should know that I know and-"

"Yuki is fine. He's awake, he wanted to come, but we told him to stay home with Shigure," Haru interrupts. "We've come to explain the situation to you."

It's at this point that Murasaki realizes she's been essentially barring them from coming in, so she moves aside, murmuring a quiet "s-sorry, come in". The three other teens file into her apartment, Tohru setting the food on Murasaki's coffee table.

"Please, have a seat," she says, and they do.

There's a single, insufferably long beat of silence before Haru speaks up.

"Please understand, we don't intend to tell you everything."

Murasaki nods, nervous at the seriousness of his tone.

"This is for your safety," he continues. "The more you know, the more danger you're in, so we will explain what you need to know and we ask that you refrain from asking further questions."

This earns him another nod, so he continues.

"Yuki and I have a particular … condition that causes us to transform when we are under physical stress or when we are hugged by someone of the opposite sex, as you saw today. It's a family curse, so to say, an unfortunate Soma inheritance."

Murasaki furrows her brows and looks at Kyo, who has gone strangely silent. But the curiosity is fleeting, soon replaced by a steely resolve not to pry.

"I've known about this since I started living with them," Tohru admits, her eyes slightly downcast. Murasaki reaches a hand out to Tohru, placing it on the girl's shoulder.

"I figured as much. Don't worry, I'm not upset," Murasaki says to Tohru, and she smiles, understanding. Murasaki turns back to Haru. "Hatsuharu-san, would it be dangerous to know the potential consequences of someone else finding out?"

Another, insufferably long beat of silence.

"It would guarantee that both you and Tohru would never interact with the Somas again. And Yuki and Kyo would be forced to move back to the main estate and attend a school of the family head's choosing. They would lose all of their freedom. This is why it is essential that no one else knows that you know about the curse."

Haru looks her straight in the eye, and Murasaki is reminded of a similar moment this morning, when he was in a very different form. But the eyes are the same.

"I understand," Murasaki says, glancing at Tohru, who tries a smile in Murasaki's direction. It is returned. "I won't tell a soul."

At that, Kyo lets out a frustrated sigh, breaking the tension in the air as he reaches for the bag of food still sitting on the table, untouched.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. Won't tell a soul. Protect the damn rat till we die. Let's fucking eat already."

This earns some genuine laughter from the others at the table.


The fitness run had taken place on a Tuesday, and for the rest of the week, Yuki remained absent from school. Murasaki had worried that his condition had deteriorated again, but Tohru assured her that Shigure was simply insisting on him being extra cautious.

Which is why Murasaki is surprised to see him jogging up the forest path at the usual time for their usual run that Saturday morning.

"Good morning," she says, not bothering to hide the surprise written all over her expression. He smiles at her, with a question in his eyes, but it's never asked.

"Good morning," he replies.


They run like they have been for the past few weeks. Down the streets, up the inclined roads. They wait at the street intersections and continue when the crosswalk lights are green.

And it's quiet.

Yuki finds himself noticing the slightest scrap of their shoes against the pavement. The way more of the birds have come out to sing on this warmer morning.

He notices the quiet huff of Murasaki's breathing ahead of him, the lighter, more rhythmic sound of her footfalls.

It almost feels like it did two weeks ago.

Almost.

"So, there was a student council meeting while you were out," Murasaki says, the clarity of her voice cutting through his mind like a knife. He is almost startled at the sound.

"I see. I'm sorry I couldn't be there."

"No worries. I gave the class report, hope that's okay."

"I hope it wasn't too much trouble to do it alone," he says, feeling a little guilty, but she waves her hand.

"It was no trouble. Is this pace okay?"

He looks up to see that she is looking back at him, a frown line creased across her brow.

Worry, is the word he'd use to describe it, but there's something softer hidden underneath.

"I'm okay. Are you alright?"

Murasaki laughs, and Yuki is surprised when the sound takes an enormous weight off his shoulders, one he hadn't even realized was there.

"I'm not the one who had an asthma attack four days ago. Should you even be running?"

"We're barely jogging, thanks to the pace you're setting."

Murasaki turns to look at him again, quirking a brow at his sass.

"I hardly think killing my fellow class rep is in good taste."

But they never pick up the pace. Murasaki's rhythmic footfalls stay at a steady, comfortably slow tempo.

Some part of Yuki, some hopeful, foolish part of him, imagines her always in his view, a few steps away.

Never moving fast enough to leave him behind.


When they arrive at Murasaki's apartment, she insists that Yuki come in for some tea and a short break, and is relieved to see he doesn't seem to want to argue.

"Which do you prefer, Jasmine or Chamomile?" she asks from the kitchen, waiting for his response from the living room. When it never comes, she frowns, setting the tea down.

She takes a peek into her living room, only to spot him eyeing her bookshelves again. Really, if Murasaki didn't know better, she'd think he was secretly in love with Beethoven or something.

"Yuki?"

He looks up, surprised, and it's a few moments too many before she realizes why.

Well, that's certainly new. She's never accidentally dropped honorifics before.

"S-sorry, I didn't mean to be rude-"

"Keep it."

Murasaki blinks.

"What?"

"The ... the lack of honorifics. Keep it, I don't mind."

He's staring so intently at a volume of Music History 101, but she swears there's a tiny blush on his face, which makes her feel oddly happy.

In four days, so much has happened. He's nearly died. She's found out his family is comprised of werecows, and now no honorifics.

No honorifics.

With the prince of their high school.

Maybe Murasaki finally is getting somewhere with this friendship.

"If I asked you to call me by my first name, would you refuse?" she asks him eventually. He seems to let the idea ruminate in his mind for a moment before answering.

"Probably," he says, turning a slightly darker shade of pink.

"In that case, will you just call me Saki? No honorifics?"

After that idea ruminates, and his skin turns slightly more pink, Yuki nods.

"If you'd like that. Then yes."

Murasaki smiles, pleased.

"I'd love it. Oh, and Yuki?"

He looks at her, nervous.

"Yes?"

"Jasmine or Chamomile?"


It is not the first time they've been alone in a space. In fact, it's not the second or the third. After being in student council together for almost a year, and being the sole two representatives of their class, it's not unusual for them to end up working or filing or brainstorming together, staying late in their classroom posting announcements, planning activities and announcements.

But never have they been in a room with only each other, and nothing but space and teacups and a conversation waiting to happen sitting between them.

The lack of posters or planning to keep a distance is terrifying.

"I feel a bit guilty, invading your home for tea and nice company when I've never actually managed to return the favor," Yuki says after a moment, his voice taking on a tone of confession.

Murasaki blinks at him, surprised.

"I felt I'd be intruding," she says.

He feels tempted to say that she wouldn't have been, but now that she knows about everything, he's beginning to think that she may be right.

Some distance, some space between them, has been eliminated.

"Am I not intruding now?" seems like the next best reply, so that's what he chooses to ask.

"You're never intruding."

Frankly, it's impressive how drastically she can affect him with a three word statement. It is impressive how much she manages to say with so little.

He wonders if all words have this depth of impact, or if it's just her and her inexplicable talent for making him experience emotions he doesn't understand.

~.~

Yuki begins to laugh, and Murasaki furrows her brows, confused.

"What? Did I say something odd?"

He looks up from his teacup, and suddenly Murasaki is subjected to his expression of rare, pure, unadulterated joy.

Every romance novel that Murasaki has ever read has lied to her. Happiness doesn't look like stars or moonlight or sunsets.

It looks like a rosy hue on pale skin and delicate but somehow boyish fingers curled over a warm teacup.

Happiness looks like Yuki's smile.

"No, it's just ... I don't know, I suppose you surprise me. You always surprise me," he chuckles, and Murasaki can feel the blush creeping up her neck.

He's so beautiful when he's happy.


AN:

As usual, big thank-you to my Followers/Favorites: AngelofMusic1321, Deneb E. Winter, Sayuri Tamano, Yakitori-Chan, ayamiamy, cappie14, frustratedfox, sheeto1011, tokkiKANA, and Of-Constellations-and-Coffee!

Also, a special thanks to ayamiamy for the "werecow" idea! (I was talking over the chapter idea with her and when she mentioned the term "werecow" I just had to use it!)

Review Replies!

Guest (Ch.1): Thank you so much! I love this anime too, and with the new adaptation covering more of the manga, I'm feeling super nostalgic as well, haha! I do plan on continuing this, at this point I feel like heartlessly abandoning Yuki's budding romance is in poor taste. (But shhhh, he doesn't know that yet.)

Guest (Ch.2): Thank you so much! Sometimes Saki and Yuki end up even cuter than I ever intended (which isn't bad), haha.

As per usual, I love love love reviews. Please don't be afraid to share your thoughts!