Chapter 7-Kazuma POV-I do not own Fruits Basket-Again, I am still trying to establish that more time has passed so we can work on getting Hana to age 18 so Kazuma won't feel like such a dirty old man! Poor Kazuma-kun! His heart wants to lead him where his sense of propriety doesn't dare tread! Many thanks to my readers and reviewers for all your kind comments and encouragement! You guys make me feel so appreciated! Thanks!


After more than a month passed, I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to see Saki again. While I had seemed to get my thoughts of her mostly under control since that day in the meditation garden, I still found myself thinking of her often, particularly on days like today when I had no students around to distract me. I was coming to realize that my feelings for her were more than those of a dirty old man looking to recapture his lost youth in a pretty girl; my fantasies seemed to be heading more in the direction of domestic bliss. I imagined raising children together, celebrating anniversaries and holidays as a family, and doing our day to day chores side by side. I had to laugh at myself as I examined my fantasies. I wasn't a dirty old man…I was a boring old man! Not that I didn't devote a fair amount of time to reliving the kiss we had shared at the edge of the pond. Sometimes I thought the thoughts of our embrace would drive me to distraction.

It had occurred to me that if I really wanted to see her, all I had to do was ask Kyo's friend Honda Tohru and she would cheerfully give me Saki's phone number without question. But I still felt a degree of resistance in actively pursuing her. I just couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow inappropriate for a man my age to romantically pursue my son's friend. Plus, there was the matter of the Sohma family curse; I didn't want to have to deceive a woman I loved about the true nature of my son. It would be best if I just let my feelings for her go. I grimaced ruefully to myself since it was obvious my feelings weren't going anywhere any time soon.

This ridiculous fixation on Saki was interfering in my ability to remain focused on taking care of Kyo and running my dojo. It was only with great effort that I was managing to evict her from my thoughts during meditation. I felt a wave or irritability wash over me. Sitting around thinking about how I should stop thinking about Saki was more non-productive than I cared to be. I grabbed my katana and headed out back to practice my sword skills.

Redirecting my focus on my art, I threw myself wholly into my practice. Completely unaware of the passage of time, I lost myself in the smoothly choreographed blocks, thrusts, ducks and spins of swordplay. I made a finally thrust into the air before me and then I closed my eyes and brought my katana up in front of me and I centered my energy once again. When I opened my eyes, Saki stood in front of me.


Hana POV

I watched him from a safe distance as he executed perfectly balanced swings and thrusts with his katana, moving more like a dancer than a warrior. My heart was fairly singing as I saw flashes of rippling muscle as his navy blue keikogi would open in the front with the force of his swings. I had known Kazuma was very skilled and well respected as a martial artist, but until I saw him in full motion, I really had no idea how impressive he really was. I felt a bit like the school girl I actually was and I laughed internally at myself for my rapt admiration of his graceful maneuvers.

I waited until I saw him raise his sword up and close his eyes in prayer before I approached him, taking care not to get too close since I had just seen a fairly good example of exactly what he could do with his sword. I saw his eyes widen in surprise when he opened them and saw me standing in front of him.

"Kazuma-kun," I said quietly, bowing my greeting to him. He bowed in return, his face betraying a bemused expression.

"Saki-chan, you run the risk of being run through by a sword when you suddenly materialize without warning in front of a swordsman," he said mildly, sheathing his katana and walking back toward the dojo. I fell in step alongside him, following him inside as he entered the back door. We walked back to the living room where he gestured at the zabuton cushions that surrounded his kotatsu and offered me a seat.

"You have caught me unprepared for company. I am beginning to suspect you take a degree of enjoyment in catching people unawares," he said with a playful smile. "Please make yourself comfortable while I shower and change." He walked briskly down the hall and slid the shoji door shut behind him, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

He seemed much more comfortable in my presence than I had dared to hope. I had been afraid I would find him wary or nervous in my presence because of what had happened between us in the park. His relaxed and humorous demeanor was a bit of a relief. Not that I would have minded if he wanted to pick up where we left off at the koi pond, I thought to myself, smiling and feeling warmth pool in my pelvis as I remembered the kiss we had shared in front of the pond.

I wasn't necessarily sure what I planned to do with Kazuma if I did manage to "get" him. I hadn't really thought this plan through. I knew that he was the man I intended to marry. From reading his waves, I had seen that he had integrity, honor and that he would treat me with love and respect. I rather suspected he would make a good father based upon his experience raising Kyo; he'd have to be good if he could spend that much time with Kyo and not kill him. But I didn't really know what I planned to have happen between us after getting him to accept his feelings for me. Maybe that is something you had best consider, I chided myself.

I was unused to the effects of powerful romantic emotions, and I was dismayed when I realized how often I had allowed myself to react spontaneously to Kazuma without thinking through as to the possible results of my actions. Regulating my romantic emotional responses was far more complex than managing my angry reactions, and it had far more subtle, but no less dangerous consequences.

I sat quietly on the cushion waiting for him to return. He had some pictures of himself and Kyo in simple cedar wood frames scattered on his kotatsu. I picked one up and studied it. A smiling Kazuma stood next to a much smaller version of Kyo in a white karategi. Kyo was holding a trophy that was nearly taller than he was and seemed to be shouting something joyfully when the picture was snapped. I noticed that aside from having long brown hair tied back in a neat pony-tail at the base of his neck, Kazuma looked much the same then as he did now.

I heard some rustling and I looked up to see that Kazuma had come back into the living room. His hair was still wet and it looked darker. He had thrown a short charcoal gray silk haori over a navy blue colored kimono and black hakama. He glanced at the picture I was holding and he smiled.

"That was one of my proudest moments," he said with a quiet smile. "Seeing Kyo go from being angry and sullen, to developing some discipline, to finally seeing all his hard work and practice translated into a victory; it was at that moment that I saw him first come to believe that he was worth something." He continued to smile, lost in memory for a few moments, then his gaze turned serious; he looked at me and he took one of my hands. The pulsing, buzzing current of energy started up almost immediately. He looked me in the eyes and I felt my chest tightening with anticipation. The pulsing increased in frequency as my thoughts turned toward images of kissing him and being held in his arms again.

"I know you can feel this energy too, Saki-chan. I feel it every time we touch hands. The frequency of it changes in response to our emotions and thoughts. Do you know what it is?" I looked at him quietly, feeling my anticipation deflating like air being let out of a balloon as I realized he wasn't going to do anything other than hold my hand. I pushed my feelings aside and became serious.

"I don't know for sure," I said softly. "I have never experienced this before, although I suspect it has something to do with energy sparking when our denpa waves contact." I looked into his hazel eyes, trying to gauge his response. He sat there quietly, still holding my hand, but saying nothing.


AN: I apologize on how long it is taking for me to get to the "interesting" stuff. I just don't think Kazuma is the sort of man who would rush into a physical relationship; he's too honorable for that. Plus, I think he's really stuck on the whole high school girl idea; he doesn't want to be a "dirty old man" like Shigure, so I think he is holding himself back as best he can until Hana gets older. I don't know what the laws are in Japan regarding consensual sexual relationships, but here in the U.S. Kazuma would get his rear reamed by the courts for his relationship with Hana (if it progressed much further while she was under 18). I suspect that older man/younger woman relationships are more acceptable in Japan, but I don't know for certain. As always, please read and review.