Disclaimer: If I ever own Fruits Basket, then I'll throw a party…Right now, no parties, so… yes, Fruits Basket is not mine…

Authors Note: This update came way later than usual because my sisters came home from college for Thanksgiving, and well, I love to update, and I love my readers, but…well, they are my sisters…and… no offense, but they come first… But, never fear, I always have a chapter semi-written! So…weeeee! Um, as for this particular chapter…I had like, a teensy bit of writers block with it, but I continued to write anyway, so if its not top quality, I apologize… I'll try harder next time! In the meantime: enjoy!

Book of the Cat

Chapter 12

Monday

Kazuma left Shigure's house on Sunday. The whole time he was there, Kyo didn't leave his room. Kazuma brought all of Kyo's food up to him so he could stay in bed. Tohru and Yuki didn't dare listen to their conversations anymore.

Monday morning came by quickly, and Tohru woke up early to get breakfast on the table, lunches ready, and schoolbags by the door. Yuki came down next. Tohru was surprised that Kyo was not down first, but she figured he was having a hard time with his cast. Sure enough, after several minutes Kyo appeared in the kitchen. Shigure was enjoying his morning crossword puzzle, and smiled when he saw Kyo.

"Kyo! How are "we" this morning?" Shigure blurted cheerfully.

Kyo scowled. "Well… "We" are pissed off because "We" have to wear a stupid cast because of "Our" stupid doctor."

Shigure pretended to look upset. "Hatori-san is not stupid! He's…amazing." Kyo gave Shigure a funny look and reached to get his backpack. Tohru was unsure of how to greet Kyo; Yuki seemed uncomfortable, too. They busied themselves with getting their own bags, and waiting for Kyo to get his.

"Stupid cast…couldn't even get dressed this morning…" Kyo mumbled.

"Well…" Shigure interrupted, "I'm sure Tohru wouldn't mind helping you dress…. eat…take a sponge-bath…" He stopped when Kyo's foot connected with his head.

"Baka inu…my legs still work." Kyo growled, than stomped towards the door. Yuki stood next to Kyo. Just as Kyo reached the door handle, he turned around and lunged at Yuki. Yuki swiftly moved out of the way and Kyo collided with the table. Yuki stared at him and sighed.

"Stupid cat, come on, we have to go to school."

Kyo grumbled, rubbing the knee that he just slammed on the table. He stared at Yuki angrily, and then walked out of the house, not even waiting for Tohru and Yuki.

Kyo avoided Yuki for the rest of the morning. It wasn't until 3rd period that Kyo finally tried to hurt Yuki again. Yuki never even saw the attack coming because Kyo didn't use martial arts… He used a slingshot.

In 3rd period science, Yuki sat under one of the large, metal light fixtures that attach to the ceiling by one wire on either side. Kyo worked hard on his plan, thinking carefully about how he could use that to his advantage. Towards the end of class, while the teachers back was turned, Kyo reached into his bag and extracted a small yet powerful slingshot that he had hidden in there. Kyo lined it up and shot at one of the wires holding the light in place. It snapped and Yuki snapped to life just as quickly. He grabbed the person sitting next to him and pulled him down under the desks. A split second later the light came crashing down exactly where Yuki and the student were sitting a moment before. Several kids screamed, some kids jumped, but Yuki kept his eyes on Kyo's calm face and watched as he placed a small object back in his bag.

"Is everyone alright?" The teacher questioned frantically. Yuki found Kyo's rock near his chair. He hid it in his pocket and stood up.

"Yes, sensei, we are all fine." The teacher nodded and seemed relieved. She helped to evacuate all the students from the room. The boy Yuki saved thanked him graciously. Tohru rushed over and brushed some dirt from Yuki's shirt. Kyo just walked past him and bumped his shoulder into Yuki's.

That was attempt #1.

Tuesday

By Tuesday morning, the light fixture incident was common knowledge throughout the school, although no one knew what had caused it. The administration had chalked it up to a faulty screw and cleaned the mess up quickly so the students did not have to miss school.

When Kyo, Yuki and Tohru got to school, Yuki was bombarded with presents. Everyone complimented him and called him a hero and the fan girls nearly cried as they said how happy they were that the Prince was safe. Yuki cast a quick glance at Kyo. He hadn't talked to Kyo at all about what he had seen, but Kyo didn't seem too notice that Yuki was suspicious of him. He just stayed in his room when they were at home. When Tohru went to knock on his bedroom door he would say he was reading and that she should leave him alone.

Yuki, Tohru, and Kyo had a study hall for 5th period. The teacher lazily sat behind her desk, not even caring that the students were setting mini fires to old homework, or using their cell phones to order pizza.

Tohru, Uo and Hana all sat together in a huddle playing Dai Hin Min.

"Yuki, join us!" Tohru begged to Yuki as he was studying. He looked up and smiled.

"Of course, Ms. Honda." He walked towards their group and began to deal the cards. Their classroom was on the second floor, so they could see the entire grounds from their high seats. The four of them were sitting by an open window. The inside window ledge was big enough that they could all sit on it. The cold winter breeze blew through Yuki's hair, but did not disturb their card game.

Kyo walked towards the teacher. "Sensei, the people in the main office want to talk to you."

The teacher looked up. "Really? That's great! I mean… I shouldn't leave this classroom unattended…but…" Before she could finish her sentence, she dashed out of the room. Kyo smirked and walked over to the window to watch the game. Uo was winning currently, but Yuki was just about to pull a revolution.

Kyo stood next to the window ledge, right next to Yuki. He leaned over Tohru's shoulder, pretending to be interested in her cards. Yuki reached into his cards, ready to place some on the table. While he was absorbed in his game, Kyo quickly turned around and pushed Yuki as hard as he could. Yuki was caught off balance and felt himself starting to slip out the window. If it had not been for Uo, who was sitting right next to him, Yuki would have plunged to the ground. She grabbed a handful of Yuki's shirt and pulled him back hard. They tumbled to the ground, fortunately not on top of each other.

Tohru nearly fainted, but she ran to Yuki's side to make sure he was all right. Hana glared at Kyo. Uo jumped up.

"What the hell is the matter with you Carrot-top?" she screamed. Kyo shrugged and walked away. The other students momentarily stopped their activities to watch the scene, but they lost interest when they noticed it was just Kyo and Uo fighting again.

Yuki sat up and rubbed his forehead while Tohru babbled to him. She asked him how he was doing, and why Kyo did that. Yuki merely shook his head; surprised that Kyo had almost…well…killed him.

That was attempt #2.

Wednesday

On Wednesday, the boys had gym. Kyo and Yuki's class had gym with the boys from the year below them, which meant that Momiji and Haru were in their class. They met up with Yuki and watched as Kyo pleaded with the gym teacher to be allowed to participate. The teacher flat out refused and Kyo sulked on the bench, flicking his cast every now and then. The teacher turned to the rest of the students.

"Today we will be climbing the rope. The rules are as follows: You climb up…than you climb back down."

Haru rolled his eyes. "Sounds complicated," he mumbled under his breath. Momiji giggled. The teacher turned towards Haru.

"Are the Sohmas having a problem today?" He barked.

"No, sir," Haru mocked.

"Good. You're up first." He turned towards Kyo, "Kyo!" Kyo sat up straight and stared at him. "Come here. Because of your "handicap" you can participate by holding the rope. All you need to do is hold it steady. Can you do that?"

Kyo shrugged and bent down to grab the end of it. Haru stood up and the teacher nodded for him to begin. Haru grabbed onto the rope, and then put his foot on Kyo's shoulder to push off. Kyo frowned, but Haru had begun to climb already. In seconds he had reached the top, than he was back on his way down. When his feet safely touched the gym mats, the teacher called up another student to climb.

One by one the students completed the task. Finally it was Yuki's turn. He hesitated before stepping on the rope. Finally he got on and climbed to the top with a speed faster than anyone else.

Kyo waited until Yuki was at the top, then he pulled roughly on the rope and pushed it forwards again. The rope swayed back and forth viciously. The teacher didn't notice because his back was turned at that moment, but he turned when he heard the kids start to yell at Kyo. He rushed over to Kyo just as Yuki dropped from the rope. The students screamed, but Yuki landed perfectly on the mat. The teachers and students applauded Yuki's safe descent, then the teacher rounded on Kyo.

"Detention! How dare you do that to your own cousin?" Kyo turned away and shrugged once more, his usual response to everything lately. Kyo met Haru's eyes and Haru quickly turned away.

That was attempt #3.

Thursday

Kyo woke up early and came downstairs quickly. He ate his breakfast and then waited for Yuki and Tohru to come downstairs. He sat on the porch while he waited and thought about the last few days. All his attempts weren't working. Yuki was too well protected. Maybe he should just give up?

Kyo's bright blue cast caught his attention. He didn't think he could kill Yuki, but he feared the wrath of the Cat much more than a few detentions. He just needed to think harder, be sneakier.

Tohru joined Kyo a few minutes later, and Yuki came too. Yuki stared at Kyo but turned away. He didn't want to upset Tohru by shouting at Kyo. He simply grabbed hold of Tohru's hand and began to walk to school.

Throughout the school day, Kyo was on edge. He looked around for every possible situation he could use to his advantage, but there were none. It wasn't until the end of the school day that he attempted to hurt Yuki again.

Yuki and Tohru were walking up the stairs. They were engaged in a conversation about their after school plans, when Tohru slipped at the top step. Kyo ran forward, and grabbed her at the top step, quickly steadying her. As Yuki also tried to help, Kyo shot his hand out and pushed Yuki in the chest. Before his hand even touched his shirt, Yuki caught it. His eyes narrowed.

"Not today, Cat. You're being a damn fool lately. Back off. Don't you have detention as it is?" He guided Tohru away, but turned back. "Your attempts are getting lamer and lamer. I know it was you with the slingshot in science. You're pathetic." Tohru turned pink, but she didn't defend Kyo. They walked away together and Kyo felt his blood boil.

That was attempt #4.

Pathetic? Kyo stared at his cast and gulped. He was never going to do this. He was going to be killed by the true form of the Cat and there was nothing he could do about it.

The bell rang, signaling that Kyo needed to go to detention. He retrieved his bag from the floor -he had dropped it when Tohru slipped- then he walked off to the small classroom reserved for the "bad" students.

The same teacher who supervised study hall supervised detention, so, needless to say, it was basically a toned down party. Kyo slunk to the back seat. On his way there, the teacher shouted out, "Yea Sohma, you deserve detention…tricking me out of class like that…"

Sohma sat in the chair and put his head down at the table. After a few minutes, he reached for his backpack and opened it. The book came out. It lay on Kyo's desk for a few minutes as Kyo mustered up the courage to open it once again. He flipped open the cover and turned to a new page.

There are those who believe that the true form of the Cat is revolting, but in truth it is glorious. No other creature has as much power and strength as the True Cat. The rat would be crushed in an instant if the True Cat's power was forced upon him. The rat is pitiful, and destroying it would do the world good. It needs to pay. The rat deserves to suffer.

Kyo stopped reading when someone plunked down in the seat next to him. He turned and was once more faced with his only blonde Yankee friend, Uo.

"Hey Carrot-top, reading the book again?"

"No. I'm just staring at it and occasionally turning the pages to create waves of air."

"Ha, whatever." She stared at his cast. "Hey, loser, why did you pick electric blue for your cast color?"

"I didn't pick it. My doctor chose the color while I was unconscious."

"Unconscious? Who did you piss off? Yuki? Did he cream you again?"

"No!" Kyo hissed. Uo smirked.

"Whatever. So, read anything interesting?"

"Uo, go away. Why are you even here?"

"Um…detention genius…"

"No Yankee, what did you do?"

"I didn't do anything… I wanted to come." Uo rolled her eyes, imitating Kyo's sarcasm.

"Whatever, go away!"

"Nah…I'd rather bug you. Let me read, too."

"No. You only slow me down."

"Come on, you know you want to teach me more…"

Kyo rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever, just shut up."

Detention passed a lot quicker with Uo there.

Meanwhile, at Shigure's house, Tohru and Yuki were having a quick chat with Shigure.

"He's even more crazy than usual lately! He tried to push me out of a window while I was playing cards!" Yuki stated.

"Really?" Shigure answered quizzically.

"Yes, Kyo-kun has been acting very strange lately." Tohru included.

Yuki continued, "And its not even like he's fighting with martial arts anymore. He's just fighting dirty. It's weird. I have to constantly keep an eye on him."

Shigure nodded. "Well, if there is any more trouble, I'll talk to Hatori. Maybe Kyo's PMS-ing…"

Yuki shook his head, "Be serious, Shigure."

Friday

Everyone was on edge Friday. Shigure, Tohru and Yuki seemed to keep a constant watch on Kyo when they thought he wasn't looking. Kyo didn't seem to notice. He ignored all of them.

At school, Yuki made sure to avoid Kyo so that Kyo would have no chance to attack him anymore. Nothing happened at all that day.

Tohru and Yuki walked home together, Kyo didn't seem to be anywhere. The arrived at Shigure's house and turned on the television to watch a movie with Shigure. Kyo arrived home a bit later. He clutched a small plastic bag to his chest. He stared at the group for a moment, and then quickly walked up to his room.

When the movie ended, Tohru went into the kitchen to prepare dinner. She pulled out some fish from the fridge and turned around to get some spices to prepare it. She nearly spun into Kyo, but he caught her by the forearms so that he wouldn't transform. Tohru turned bright red.

"I'm sorry Kyo-kun. Is there anything you need from the kitchen?"

Kyo shook his head. "No… I wanted to know if I could make dinner tonight." Tohru stepped back and thought for a minute. She wasn't sure if she should let him help, she didn't want him to poison Yuki's food. She felt bad for thinking Kyo would do that, but, well, lately she wasn't sure if she should trust him. He had been acting pretty shady.

"Um, how about we make it together?" Tohru stated. That way she could keep an eye on him. Kyo seemed hesitant, but he nodded in agreement finally.

She prepared the meal, laying out all the ingredients. Kyo helped her. Tohru noticed his hands were shaking.

"Kyo-kun, are you cold?"

"Um…no…uh, maybe…" He continued to prepare the food. He took out some seasoning and sprinkled some on the fish. Tohru watched Kyo. He didn't slip any poison in the meal, so she figured that everything was okay. She still kept her eyes on him.

Dinner was done cooking within an hour. Tohru thanked Kyo for his hard work, and then she asked him to help her serve the meal. She kept her eyes on Kyo as he placed the food on the table, and watched him every step of the way. He did not do anything to the food.

The four occupants of the house sat at the dinner table together. Yuki looked at the food, than back up at Tohru. Tohru grinned.

"Kyo-kun helped make supper. I supervised. Everything is safe to eat!"

Kyo gave her a strange look. "What do you mean "safe to eat"? Do you think I'm incapable of making a decent meal?" He scowled. Tohru looked nervous, but Shigure spoke up for her.

"Yes, she thinks you're a complete imbecile unable to serve us fish. Can we eat now?"

Kyo shrugged and took a bite. Tohru and Shigure followed. Yuki stared at it for a minute, then picked up his fork and cut off a piece of fish. He chewed it, and then swallowed it.

Shigure smiled. "It tastes different. The spices are different. It tastes good though."

Tohru stopped eating. "I didn't use a different spice."

Yuki stopped eating too, but for a different reason. His throat… it was constricting. He grabbed it and dropped his fork. It fell to the table with a loud clatter. Shigure turned to Yuki and noticed Yuki's paling face.

"Yuki! What's wrong? Are you choking?" Yuki shook his head "no", clutching his throat. Shigure rushed to his side, and shouted to Kyo. "Kyo, what did you put in the fish?"

Tohru turned to Kyo. His hands were shaking again, and his eyes looked far-off. After a second he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. His voice seemed dead as he responded. "Cassia leaves."

"What are cassia leaves?" Tohru whispered.

Shigure stood up. "It's a spice that Yuki is highly allergic to." His voice was panicked. Shigure fled to the bathroom and returned in less than a second. In his hand was an Epi-pen. He rushed to Yuki's side and administered the needle to Yuki's thigh as quickly as he could. Yuki's eyes were closed, his hands still around his throat. After several seconds, his muscles relaxed. His chest went up and down slowly.

Shigure's hand was shaking like Kyo's. He wiped some sweat from his brow and then turned to Tohru. "Please…please call Hatori." Tohru didn't need to be asked twice. She rushed to the phone and called the family doctor.

Shigure turned to Kyo as he held Yuki's pale hand. His eyes found Kyo's eyes. Kyo was shaking and he was as pale as Yuki. His back was pushed against the wall, and his eyes were wide but empty. Shigure's voice cut through the air like a knife.

"What have you done, Kyo? What have you done?"

That was attempt #5.

Authors Note: Yes, my longest chapter ever. I don't think I'll ever write one this long again, (sorry), it took me three and a half hours… now none of you can complain about it being too short! Next update should be up on Saturday, ok?

Let me once again thank the fabulous reviewers who brighten up my day:

Someone who reads: Oh, I'm glad you figured out that you could review! I love new reviews. I'm also happy that you're enjoying my story… that inspires me to write faster!

Eclipsedlight: I'm glad you think that I got Kyo's personality right. That was one of my concerns that I wasn't true to the anime/manga. I'm glad you enjoy my story!

Amethystcrystal231: Don't let Kyo die? Oh pooh, you want to ruin my fun…Hah, Just kidding, don't flip out. And yes, pillow attacks can be quite frightening.

Sesshumarusgirl101: Yea, poor Kyo. I felt bad making him cry. Luckily Kazuma was there for him.

Fullma8712: Kyo is cursed again because… well the creature told him it's not permanent until Kyo does what he wants. It was just a taste of freedom. Keep reading!

Imbrium4: Yup, Haru's awesome. He saved Kyo. I'll try to write in more Haru in the next few chapters!

Dark-wolf-soulX: You and me have got to stop eating things when we comment to each other. I just choked on a Snapple because of your review. I think my story should come with a warning: "Do not eat while reading."

Dark Inu Fan: Ha, when you pointed out Kyo having a blue cast, I just randomly decided to pick on that in this chapter. Ah, yes, my reviewers sometimes inspire me to add random nonsense into my story.

ShadoWalker: Ha, you thought the last chapter was short? Before this one, that was the longest chapter! I'm glad you liked it!

The Cheshire Katt: You got a cold, too? Ah, poor thing. And, be careful not to go bald when you spaz; if you grip your hair too hard it might fall out! Thanks for the lovely review!

Narutofreak22: Ha, you're welcome. Is this long enough? Enjoy!

And to all my silent readers: REVIEW IF YOU CAN! I love reviews… seriously I do. Ah, I mean, what's to be afraid of? Do you think I'd yell at you? Nope, I can't… you know why? …Because you can't yell through a computer. Doesn't work. I can kick the computer (which has happened many a time), but I can't yell through it. Nope, doesn't work.