Special Note: Yes! I've finally finished another chapter! ...Okay... so it's really short... and it isn't even that good... but... I UPDATED, DIDN'T I?! Anyway, we hope you like it. Upcoming chapters will hopefully be longer and more humorous-dramatic, 'cause that is what it's supposed to be, after all.

Disclaimer: You think I own any of this? (dies laughing)

Note, 1: This is one of my first attempts at writing the Fruits Basket characters. Please forgive me if anyone seems too out of character. Advice is always appreciated; just don't be mean or uppity about it.

Note, 2: I don't like curse words. Nor am I certain that my parents would allow me to type them. Therefore, all swearwords will be written as follows: -CENSORED-. The strongest words I'll ever type out in this fic are: dang, shoot, and crud.

Verisimilitude

Twenty-One: The Cat and the Rat

Kyo looked after Shigure as the dog rushed out of the room. He then heard a soft noise, kind of like bed-sheets rustling, and turned his head to look at the spot where the sound had come from.

Who… oh. Right. "Yuki".

"Clumsy?" Kyo asked the rat.

Yuki blinked before shifting his eyes over to glance in the other boy's direction.

"That bandage on your head," clarified Kyo. "Fell and hit it or something?"

"Something," Yuki decided.

"I'm Kyo."

"I know that."

"Oh. Yeah, we do live together, so I guess you would know that…"

Yuki rubbed his head curiously, trying to recall what had happened last night.

Akito—Kyo—safety for a—Hatori—memory—zodiac toys—sorry—cat—erased…

The blurry memories zipped by so fast that Yuki honestly couldn't remember precisely what had happened beyond when he'd fallen asleep while Hatori carried him. He decided to ask Kyo.

"How come you're…? Why did you introduce yourself?" Yuki finally asked.

"'Cause I lost my memory. That weirdo Shigure person wouldn't tell me how."

The rat gingerly put together a few recollections. Kyo—memory—erased. Yuki sent a glare at Hatori that was so fierce that, if the dragon had been awake to see it, it would have been quite possible that he would have cringed.

Great. Not only could he not trust Hatori anymore, but his good friend Kyo was also no longer available to confide in. Well, then, he'd just have to suck it up.

"Then I'm Yuki," he introduced himself crisply.

"Yeah, I know, Shigure told me." Kyo observed Yuki, who had switched his gaze to stare coldly at the floor. "I guess we're not on the best of terms, huh?"

"We got along fine before…"

"Before I lost my memory?"

"Yes."

"How'd I lose it, anyway?"

Yuki used a hand to briefly gesture in Hatori's direction. "Ask him. But don't trust him. That would be the greatest mistake of…." He trailed off. Shut up! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Kyo doesn't even remember you—don't go bawling to him about it!

Kyo briefly wondered what his cousin had been about to say, but dismissed it quickly, deciding that perhaps a minor bit of insanity ran in the family.

Yuki, meanwhile, had rapidly rammed both hands under his blankets so that Kyo couldn't see them clench tightly as he frantically tried not to cry.

If it hadn't been for Hatori, Akito wouldn't have taken Yuki back to the Main House.

If it hadn't been for Hatori, Kyo would still have his memory.

If it hadn't been for Hatori, Yuki would still have his best friend.

If it hadn't been for Hatori—

"You okay?" Kyo finally blurted out.

The rat's head snapped up and he stared blankly at Kyo for a moment. "Oh. Yes. Fine."

Deciding that he'd rather go and take a shower than stay in the same room as Hatori for any longer, Yuki picked out some clothes and silently left the room.

Once the nezumi was out of sight, Kyo turned his head to face the still-slumbering Hatori. "Guess it's just you and me then, eh?"

Guess again, my dear little neko.

WAM

Kyo jumped up and fell out of bed when a purple- and yellow-haired creature flew through the door and crashed into a dresser. The thing let out a couple of pained yelps, which awakened Hatori and made the medical student sit bolt-upright.

The cat looked up as another shout came from the kitchen. This one, too, was very much pain-ridden, but also rather distraught. It sounded like that nutcase Shigure, come to think of it, and was actually a word:

"Why-y-yyyyyyy?!"