I am not entirely sure what to think of this one. Ever read one of your stories over so many times you don't know what to think about it? Yeah. Fruits Basket is awesome, so of course I didn't make the anime or draw/write the manga.

"I'll make some tea!" Tohru suddenly shouted, jumping up from her spot at the table in an attempt to break the gloomy atmosphere.

"Ahh, you're so kind Tohru-kun," Shigure looked up from his writing with a silly smile. He turned to Kyo as Tohru scrambled into the kitchen. "Ne, Kyon-Kyon, why can't you be more cheerful like Tohru?"

Kyo chose not to respond. At the moment his arms were folded on the table and his head was resting on them face down. He seemed completely lifeless; even his usually bright orange hair was dull and flat. Shigure was about to return to his writing when Kyo's muffled voice came through. "It's going to rain."

"You know Kyon," Shigure began, fiddling with the pen in his hand. Kyo tipped his head just enough to reveal his red-brown eyes, which were already giving Shigure a look of annoyance. "Akito says he wants to see you later today." Shigure rested his head in his hand, watching the pen dance its rhythmical pattern between his fingers. Kyo turned his face back into his arms.

"I don't care."

The pen stopped moving. "You should. He wants you to bring Tohru with you."

The fact that Tohru had just gotten dragged into the situation irritated Kyo even more.

"Akito was very particular about who he wanted to see. He said it had something to do with-"

"Mind your own business!" Kyo stood up and stormed off, passing a somewhat drowsy – but awake – Yuki on his way out. Yuki watched Kyo head for the stairs before delivering Shigure a questioning look.

"Kyon-Kyon is so meeean!" whined Shigure, batting the air like a cat and creating a pathetic scene in general. Yuki took his place at the table without bothering to try and get more from Shigure, who had now adopted a gleeful expression to greet the tea tray that Tohru held. Her smiling face (along with Shigure's comic antics) dissipated the previously dreary mood entirely.

"The tea is done! Eh? Where'd Kyo go?" she said, noticing Kyo's now empty spot.

"He went upstairs," explained Yuki, rubbing his eyes and giving a slight yawn. He wrapped his hands around the tea mug Tohru set in front of him and looked outside. The sky was overcast with a heartless shade of gray, marking the beginning of a particularly dreary autumn morning. Yuki contemplated the depths of his mug before raising it to his lips. "It looks like it's going to rain."

- - -

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. Both Shigure and Yuki had left the house. Shigure was meeting a group of writers, and Yuki had gone to the school on special student council business. Kyo had decided to lock himself in his room for the day. The rain still hasn't come yet, thought Tohru as she flipped the page of a cooking magazine.

"Tohru-" came a voice behind her.

Tohru went stiff with fright. Who was in the house besides her and Kyo? "A… a ghost?" The color drained from her face. She forced herself to turn her head. She had to see…

"I'm not a ghost silly!" A pair of large, chocolate brown eyes filled Tohru's view.

"Momiji!" Tohru's eyes swirled.

"Hee hee- Haru was right. Shigure always forgets to lock the doors." Momiji's sunshine hair bounced as he ran about the room in a childlike manner. "Look! Look, Tohru! I brought you something." Momiji came to a stop and plopped a wrapped parcel into Tohru's hands. "Open it," urged Momiji, unable to contain his excitement.

"Kawaii!" exclaimed Tohru, holding up one of the chocolates that was inside the package. Each was a cartoon interpretation of a zodiac animal. Tohru happened to be holding the rabbit.

"I even got a chocolate cat," said Momiji cheerfully. Tohru found the cat and held it in the palm of her hand. The little chocolate had its back turned to the viewer. It was sitting on the ground, tail outstretched, front feet set slightly apart from its body as if it were about to get up and move. Tohru couldn't help but feel that it looked a little lonely.

"Tohru, it'll melt if you hold it like that…"

"Oh. Oh! You're right!" Tohru put the chocolate back in the cloth with the others and tied the parcel up as it had been before.

"Actually, there's another reason I'm here." Momiji held his finger to his lips and lowered his voice as if telling a secret. "Hatori told me to bring you and Kyo to the main house. But I don't see Kyo..."

"I think he's-"

"I'm right here." Kyo was leaning on the doorframe between the main room and the rest of the house.

Startled, Tohru shook her head rapidly, trying to deflect the thought of how long he had been standing there without her noticing. He really is like a cat…

- - - -

Momiji had decided that he would stay behind and watch the house while everyone was away. He stood near the entrance smiling brightly and waving. "Bye Tohru!!" Tohru returned the wave before she and Kyo made their way down the path to the city.

By the time they got there the damp air had created a thin blanket of fog that suppressed everything in its wake. Even the few cars that passed seemed distant and far away, their usual loud noise smothered by the haze. Besides the cars, not a soul was in sight. Tohru stared at the gray pavement, a mirror reflection of the color of the sky. Days like this didn't usually dampen her spirits much, but now she wanted something to break the silence descending around her. Where was Kyo? Was he still beside her?

"...Kyo?"

Kyo's mind had been wandering through its own world. Should I tell her? But that sort of thing wouldn't... Yuki... Damn. Caught up in his thoughts, Kyo failed to notice Tohru calling him, nor did he see how the next section of sidewalk was flawed; how it was slightly taller than the rest.

A raindrop hit Tohru's yellow raincoat, sliding down the smooth surface. It was quickly followed by another. That was the only warning they got before the downpour started.

Tohru looked up just in time to see the look of surprise register on Kyo's face as he tripped over the concrete, droplets of rainwater flying off his hair.

"Kyo!" Tohru made the move to break his fall, realizing too late what would happen when they touched.

"Don't!—" Kyo collided with Tohru. The transformation was instant. Tohru held the orange cat in her arms. Kyo's clothes lay in a pile at her feet, already soaked from the rain. The animal sagged in Tohru's arms, dispirited.

"I'm sorry!" Tohru spouted.

"No," said Kyo into Tohru's raincoat. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

Looking at him now, he was only a shadow of his irrational, short tempered self. Even though Kyo often said things and acted out on whims without thinking, Tohru still felt drawn to him. She knew that behind the explosive personality he had another side. A side that was very dark and lonely; a side created by years of exclusion and rejection from everyone he knew, even his own family. Tohru felt her heart breaking. I really wish I could comfort him. I want to hold him in my arms, to hold him close to me, until all of his pain has gone away. I wish… Tohru pulled the cat close to her.

The two stood there, enshrouded by the small droplets pouring from the sky. It might have been a tear that trickled from the cat's eye, but maybe it was just the rain.

- - - - -

Akito sat at the far end of his room watching the rain fall on the inner garden of the main house. The dampness of the air outside crept into the room through the open wall panel.

"Akito-san, they have arrived." The attendant bowed formally before exiting the room.

Akito took no notice as Tohru and Kyo knelt, the length of the room spanning the distance between them. Moments passed, the time filled with the sound of raindrops pelting the roof. A roll of thunder could be heard far away.

"Tell me," began Akito, not breaking his gaze with the garden. "Did you think I wouldn't notice?" The words lapsed into unanswered silence. Akito turned his head. "Why must you disobey me?" The subtle flower pattern on Akito's deep purple kimono shifted as he slowly stood and extended his hand. "Tohru…"

Tohru rose from her place obediently and made her way to Akito. Kyo stood up as if to reach out and stop her, but did nothing. Instead, he hung his head in defeat, listening to the faint thud of Tohru's bare feet on the floor paneling. There was a pause as she reached out to take Akito's hand.

Akito slapped her. The sharp noise echoed over the soft pattering of the rain outside. Tohru remained as she was, twisted from the impact of the blow. Her eyes quivered with surprise.

"Why, Kyo? Do you like to see me suffer?" Akito whispered, grabbing the front of Tohru's shirt and pulling her upright. He softly chuckled, spearing Kyo with the clarity of his sharp gray eyes. "You can't even protect her now, can you? You are always running away, always avoiding the problem. Even now, you are a coward." A sinister smile crept across Akito's face. Still holding onto Tohru's collar, Akito shook her mildly with a sharp underscore of malicious intent.

"Stop…" Kyo took a wavering step, still afraid to confront Akito after all the years, still chained by the bond each Juunishi had, even the cat. He knew somewhere deep inside that this would happen when Akito had the chance to confront Tohru, and yet... what could he do? He didn't have the power to defy Akito. He couldn't stop it, couldn't stop him. Fear and uncertainty clouded Kyo's eyes.

"Worthless." Akito laughed as he forced Tohru down to her knees. She weakly wrapped her hands around the arm which held her, as if doing so would stop Akito.

As much as he feared Akito, Kyo couldn't stand the sight of Tohru like this. Something began to manifest itself within him. The feeling quickly became so strong that it clashed with the Juunishi bond, trying to take its place. Kyo sank to his knees as the inner struggle escalated. It felt as if there truly was a demon inside of him desperately trying to rip him apart. He bent over and laid his hands on the floor as tears of some unspeakable emotion filled his eyes. It hurt... He thought his soul might burst as the pain welled up inside of him. He wanted to scream, cry, tear his own heart out – whatever it would take to release the pressure he felt reverberating within his very being.

"Why are you hurting me, Kyo?" Akito threw Tohru across the room with full force. Her eyes went wide as her body slammed against the far wall. She landed on the floor unconscious, her long brown hair pooling around her. Kyo's fingers dug grooves into the floor paneling.

"Wh –"

"BECAUSE I LOVE HER!"

Beneath that fiery orange hair, the vengeful eyes of a cat blazed. The thin black pupils pierced Akito, attempting to gut him from the inside out. A chill ran up Akito's spine and he turned to avoid having to look at those eyes.

Kyo crossed the room and knelt next to Tohru. Beneath his rage was the true compassion he felt for her. He held his hand out, afraid to touch her, afraid that he would do something that would crush her in this helpless state. I'm the one who should be sorry. This isn't how it's supposed to be.

"How can this be happening?... I was born to be loved. Everyone was waiting for me. And now she is trying to take my place!" Akito pointed an accusing finger, although he himself looked shaken. "Everyone should love me! You should love me!" Akito shouted.

Kyo gathered Tohru in his arms, careful to avoid contact that would make him transform.

Akito's face contorted with a crazy smile. "You will be locked in that room until you die. You will live the rest of your life in there, just like your grandfather. I'll make you stay with me forever!" The rain outside drummed angrily on the roof.

"You are like a selfish child," said Kyo softly, not bothering to look at Akito. "Look around yourself. Your perfect world of forever is crumbling. Slowly… everyone is turning their backs on you. Eventually you will be left all alone. Who is the one who is caged here? You live your life in this house, ignoring everyone's feelings but your own. It must be painful to be so alone. If that's the case, then…" Kyo turned his head to look at a completely taken aback Akito.

"Then I pity you."

"…Get out."

Kyo left the room without looking back. Akito trembled, putting one hand against the wall and holding the other to his mouth. He broke out in a cold sweat. It was sickening… his mind was reeling… The lowliest of them all, the disgusting, hideous monster, pitied him. The one rejected by everyone, looked down upon by everyone, found him lacking. That thing pitied him.

- - - - - -

Tohru sat up and rubbed her eyes. She found herself in her room, the sunshine pouring in through the window. Was it just a dream? she thought, touching the spot on her face where she had been hit. It was still a little tender. Looking around, she noticed that Momiji must have laid the chocolates out for her, for they were sitting cutely arranged on her dresser. She got up to look at them again.

They were all there. But, looking at them this way, there was something different. Each chocolate had two sides. Tohru realized that she must have been looking at the back of the cat chocolate earlier. She picked up the cat, turning it over to see the other side. Where there had once been loneliness, there was now something totally different.

The cat's eyes showed kindness.