Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket, aka Furuba, and of the millions of Rocky movies, or any of the songs mentioned in this chapter. Thank you, read on.
Ha, I go inspired by Rocky, so this is that start of Tohru's training! Well, not exactly, but still! Yay, she finally found her way to Kazuma's house! Congrats, Tohru, You're not as brainless as I made you out to be. Okay, people. It's time for a montage! Would you prefer the Rocky Balboa theme, We Will Rock You, or Eye of the Tiger? Anyway, it's time for the classic training montage, usually seen in any Rocky movie. Haha, you must play one of those songs while reading this bit. I'll tell you when you can stop, okay? Good.
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I huffed as I ran on a path through a very nice park, watching my breath become visible as my feet pumped continuously against the track ground. Kazuma ran beside me, smiling with satisfaction and glancing at a stopwatch he held in his mitten-covered hand. It was only mid-October, but the temperature was dropping by the second. Even though I wore my heaviest sweats, the cold still seeped into my bones and left my whole body shivering like mad.
I glanced up at the sky I could see through the trees quickly before looking down at my feet. I had always enjoyed watching the sunrise, but I had never once in my life imagined running under the light peach sky, already sweating from my warm-up exercises.
Soon, both Kazuma and I slowed to a jog to cool down and take a few gulps of water. But it wasn't time for me to rest. I had to start my fifty push-ups, sit-ups, and stretches. Who knew karate could take so much conditioning? Well, from Kyo's well-toned chest and arm muscles… No! Don't go there! No way, don't think about that. Don't you dare, Tohru. No, it's not time to think about something like that. Well, he does only sleep in his boxers… But still!
"Okay, time to go back to the dojo." Kazuma said, smiling as I wiped my forehead from the beads of sweat that had formed on it. "I'll get you a towel when we get home so you don't catch a cold."
"Thank you, Kazuma-san! A-are we going to run back?" I asked, still panting. He nodded and smiled. I sighed. Running was tiring, but if I was going to save Kyo, I had to get stronger. Plus, I was getting into really good shape! Soon, we reached the dojo, only to continue my training.
"Right straight!" I screamed, my fist whizzing towards a makiwara (kind of like a punching bag). Kazuma laughed to himself as he watched me. I smiled, remembering the last time I had tried this move. It was that one night on the roof with Kyo. But now, I was better at it, seeing as the makiwara rocked back from the power. "Left straight!" I yelled, slamming my fist into the bag as it vibrated from the last punch.
"I see you've put some power into those straights of yours. Don't forget to work on your uppercuts and hook shots. They may not be traditional, but with Akito's men you'll have to fight dirty." Kazuma said as he walked over to me, smiling. I nodded, forgetting all about punching and I straightened out the gi I had changed into. "Let's see your kicks."
"Hai!" I said, now starting my routine of kicking. I had learned a few kicks, such as the roundhouse, drop kick, and the hook kick. I did all three repeatedly, often switching from foot to foot as to keep from developing a handicap by preference of one foot (xD That was my mistake…).
"Good. I think you're ready to learn new techniques. Normally, I would promote you to a different belt level, too, but seeing as you're in a rush to learn, that'll be done later." Kazuma said, smiling. I nodded, happy to be progressing.
"I need to learn as fast as possible, for Kyo-kun." I said, smiling determinedly. I heard Kazuma laugh again and whisper something about love, which sent me blushing. "S-so what's next to learn?"
(Stop the music now, thank you very much. Anyway… Please review and tell me which one you used. Ah, read on. Sorry for interrupting!)
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"Kyo!" Momiji yelled as he rushed on over to my new cell. Now, I was locked into a room inside one of the houses. I wouldn't be able to knock the walls down or burst the room with my other form, but at least the accommodation were better. I had a bathroom!
"What is it, Momiji?" I asked, rubbing the cast that was still on my arm. It hadn't healed completely, and when I had turned into my other form, the wound had been re-opened and the bone cracked by the readjusting and growing of my bones. So, now it had to start healing all over again. I had also received numerous cuts on my back, chest, and arms from the hard cement shards that had come from the broken ceiling and walls.
"Tohru refused to leave with us, but she's learning martial arts so she can become stronger and save you!" He said excitedly, smiling as he bounced into the nicely furnished room. "You much be happy about the room change, too."
"Damn, I wish she would just worry about herself. Tohru's gonna get herself killed if she keeps worrying about me…" I murmured, looking out the window. "It'll be on my conscious forever…"
"She says she needs to see Akito to break your curse, so she's becoming stronger so she can survive it." The ex bunny said, smiling. "She's coming around. I can tell Tohru knows she loves you, but she keeps telling herself otherwise."
"Damn, she's gonna get into so much trouble. There's no way she can possibly stand up to Akito's men…" I sighed, banging my fist on the ground to let my anger out. It didn't really work. I only succeeded in getting a sore fist.
"Oh, she took out all of Hiro's best men. He was determined to get her out of there, so he tried to kidnap her. But Tohru defeated them all." I nearly choked on the air around me. Sure, Tohru was better at defending herself, but Hiro was head of the whole police force of Japan! There was no way she could take out the bet in Japan!
"Ha, don't joke like that. Tohru's not a fighting type of girl." I said, dismissing it with a wave of my hand. I seriously doubt she could stand hurting anybody, even if they tried to hurt her. She knew her safety came first, so I thought I wouldn't be seeing her back here again. (;.; Why did I decide to watch Sailor Moon? Oh that's right, I needed to laugh a bit. But not the bad graphics are giving me a serious headache…)
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"I'm almost finished training!" I told Hanajima and Uotani. "I'm glad Kazuma-san has been giving me free lessons for the past few weeks. "I know it's quick training, but as long as I get the experience, it's fine, right?"
"Of course, Tohru! Besides, we're coming with you to see this Akito. If he dares try to harm you, Hana and I will be right there kicking his ass with you!" Uotani said, pumping her fist and smirking. "It's been a while since I've pummeled someone real good outside the ring!"
"You're definitely in the shape for it…" I said, blushing and poking at some flab still on my waist. Somehow, it had survived through my few weeks of intense overtime training. "I still have a bit to go. But I've already lost a few pounds, and a whole lot of blubber."
"Oi, you're skinny to begin with, Tohru! And besides, you have ta always remember, muscle weighs more than fat!" Hanajima nodded in agreement, poking her own stomach. She frowned when her finger was met with little resistance.
"My physic powers aren't always an advantage… They keep me from feeling the need to become physically fit enough to beat people who try to harm you two or my brother into a pulp…" She muttered, now pinching the extra fat she found on her stomach.
"Ah, but eating like a pig doesn't help either, Hana." Uotani muttered, laughing to herself. "Either way, I've got to stay in shape so I'm looking good for when I finally meet Kureno again…"
"Oh, I forgot you like Kureno-san!" I exclaimed, smiling. "He's a Sohma, one of the ones I've remembered!" Uotani gasped and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me as if it was going to get more information out of me.
"Tell me more, Tohru! Is he involved with anyone!?" Uotani asked, nearly screaming. I shrugged, and she noticed that she was gripping my shoulders rather tightly. "Oh, sorry." She muttered, letting go and backing away a bit.
"I don't know, but why don't you ask him for yourself when we go to see Akito?" I asked, and a look of pure hope dawned on her face. "We should be going soon, because Kazuma said I'm almost finished with my conditioning…"
"Ah, this is so great!" Uotani squealed, then grabbed my arm. "Lemme see your muscles!" I obliged, smiling sheepishly. "Ha, you've got boxer's arms now!"
"Do I really!?" I asked, exited. Uotani nodded, smiling to her wits end. Hanajima just stood there, watching us with a queer smile on her face.
"I wonder if Kazuma-san will teach me as well if I tag along with you… TV won't miss me too much…" She muttered, looking as if she was in her very own mind theater imagining what could happen. I never thought I would see her so… lovesick…
"A-Ah… I'm sure he wouldn't mind! He liked you, after all, Hana-chan!" I told her, smiling. Uotani frowned slightly, and I turned back to her. "The last time I spoke with Kureno before I lost my memories it looked like he liked you, too!"
"Alright! I can't wait!" Both Uotani and Hanajima screamed, pumping their fists. Now they were starting to scare me, especially Hanajima. I don't ever remember her being this energetic.
"Okay then…" I muttered, leaving the two to their day dreams to cook dinner.
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Yay, boxer arms! Heh heh, it's kinda a filler, too, but oh well! You like? I wrote this on a fancy. I didn't really know what to do next, and I wanted to lengthen this story out more. I've run out of plot points to go off of. I mean, sure I have everything up to the ending planned, but I want this to be almost as long as Neko Love, if not longer. I also wanted to show Tohru training. Well, I hadn't planned for her to train, or for Hana and Uo to go with her to the Sohma main house. I guess that was off of whim, too. But I do support the Kureno/Uo pairing, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. I might write about Hana tagging along with Tohru for her next training session, too. Kazuma/Hana is kind of odd, but I guess it's sweet, so I might as well support it in this one. I usually don't like slashers, so I'm gonna go with the pairings set by the books. Ooh, that's a spoiler for some of you, isn't it? Well, it doesn't matter... Just go read Fruits Basket at manga volume . com, without the spaces, of course. xD You'd be an idiot to put the spaces in it... Anyway, review! Thanks for reading. Ja' ne!