Beyond the Sohma Curse Much More to Know, a fruits basket fanfic

Those who love Yuki and Tohru together, you're in for a decent chapter. Those who love Kyo and Tohru may not like this chapter as much but may find it interesting at the same time. Those who love both, it's a win - win for you! However, there's a few things I'd like to get out of the way.

I have added my own theory to the Sohma curse to make it more interesting. So sorry manga readers and anime watchers, this won't be true to the storyline. In fact, I feel that it is so different, you may like this instead! Nah, nothing beats the true storyline but my version is just as good.

Second, this story may feel like it's pulling away from the original plot which is, Tohru falling in love, but I assure you, it's not… I promise! A romance story doesn't always have to be lovey dovey stuff! However, the mood I have set for the characters in this story are just a bit more mature. When I say mature, I mean their actions… words… thoughts… 21 year old Yuki doesn't act the same as 16 year old Yuki. Okay?

Awesome! Happy reading! ;)

"Yuki?" I asked in a small voice.

"Yes Miss Honda?"

"When you asked if Kyo did something to scare me, what were you meaning?" I expected him to give me a short answer but instead he let go of my hand, sighed and then stopped to look at me.

"He's not who you think he is." Yuki replied, "He's different now… a lot different." his narrowed his violet eyes at me. "Just beware of him." Yuki began walking again, leaving me to ponder about what he said. I followed in confusion.

"What do you mean? He's not the same?" I could agree with him not being the same. Even, I knew Kyo was different from the moment I saw him but… I think Yuki was saying Kyo had changed in a bad way. In a way that could very well hurt me— maybe hurt us all. Now I was sure there was more to that curse but, I didn't worry so much about that, I'd find out in time.

Chapter 3 - Much More to Know

Who was I kidding? Kyo wouldn't talk to me. He wouldn't talk to anyone. The fact that he included me in that bunch, made me sad. I began cleaning the dishes, softly humming to myself. I wouldn't let the thought of Kyo consume me. Yuki walked into the kitchen, a smile so great on his face. He turned off the faucet so he wouldn't have to talk over the rushing water.

"I have a surprise for you." he spoke, grinning. "Come with me…" He could tell that type of news was quite enlightening to me. Suddenly, he took the dish rag from me, dropped it in the sink and led me out of the kitchen.

With a confused look on my face, I asked him, "Where are we going?" and for a moment he didn't say anything then suddenly he put a finger over his lips. "Shhh…" he said. My body felt a bit tense as he did that. We left the house quietly. Where ever we were going, it was away from everyone else, perhaps a quiet romantic spot. "Yuki?" I called to my fiancé again, ignoring the fact he told me to hush.

He didn't reply back and I dared not to say another word till we got to his destination. Yuki tugged on me harder, urging me to pick up my pace and follow him mindlessly to where ever he wanted to go. It was cold… I thought. Very cold. I should have put on a jacket. Then again, how did I know Yuki was going to kidnap me and take me out into the night with him? I started to notice my surroundings, realizing we were far from Shigure's house. I didn't know where we were but it was kinda peaceful. I knew we were still in the woods but it seemed different somehow… that's when I noticed the lake and the nature all around it.

We finally stopped. That was it? The lake was our destination? There, a dock waited for us with a basket and tons of blankets sprawled out everywhere. "Yuki…" I mumbled. "Is all this for me…" My fiancé made a picnic? For me?

"Surprise…" His voice rose just a bit before over mine. "It's nothing special. I just wanted to do something…"

I didn't deserve this.

He took a lot of time making this too. As we got closer, I found out that he set up a romantic picnic for the both of us. He prepared snacks and wine made from the juices of the fruit we picked earlier today. A lantern was at the corner of the dock which gave me a view of the perfect lake and it reflected so nicely on the still water.

"Yuki," I giggled, "…you didn't have to do this."

"But…" Yuki held up a finger to my lips, seizing my words before I could even say them. "I did. I wanted too. You can't take it back now." he smiled at my expression which was a humorous pout.

"Okay… okay. I won't. Thank you so much! Thank you thank you!" a tear of joy escaped me.

We shared our snacks and wine romantically in silence. Our eyes catching each other's glances. We would only chuckle silently to ourselves. Just our eyes and laughter. That was all the entertainment we needed to have a good time. Finally I said out loud, "these snacks are amazing, thank you so much Yuki…"

"Yeah they are…" he agreed, coming to another thought, "…cooking isn't for me… so I thought could make snacks instead."

This was my first time drinking wine and first time finding out Yuki could make wine too. I didn't think wine was this weak and thick like nectar. "And this wine is amazing too!" Heh, everything was amazing to me, everything that Yuki did was amazing and sweet. Yup, it was simply amazing.

"Actually this is a bit weaker than wine. Probably closer to a fruit juice." Yuki answered my unsaid question.

"Oh…whoops…" I laughed, "Guess the wine glasses threw me off."

Yuki blinked twice before laughing at my comment. Then suddenly I laughed right after him again and before you knew it, we were laughing so hard for like five minutes straight. Tears streamed down our red faces. I knew my comment wasn't that funny but I felt like we were laughing because that was the only thing to do at that time. It reminded me of old times… Me, Yuki, Shigure… and…

I finally sighed, I knew this was supposed to be a special time for me and Yuki but I couldn't stop thinking about, you know who. I don't know why Kyo popped into my mind. I don't even know what I was doing to making me wonder about him. However, I found myself so interested in the thought of him, I couldn't pry my mind away from the subject of him.

I stopped laughing all together.

Then… Yuki took one look at my face. That's all he had to do before he got the idea that my mind was elsewhere.

"I been meaning to ask you, did Kyo do something today to scare you?" he said suddenly, then sighed, "I'm just wondering because you haven't been looking yourself today." He did have a point. I was still in shock from when Kyo broke my fall earlier today. The strangest part was I didn't even see him react. He was way too fast for my eyes. I finally assumed that it had something to do with his curse. It was just a random assumption but maybe there was more to the Sohma curse than I had any knowledge of.

Thinking those thoughts, I didn't worry so much about it.

"Heh, Yuki. I'm very fine…" I smiled. It was a fake smile I regretted. "I'm so happy that we can all be together just like the old days." I wanted to tell him that I was scared… what I didn't want to tell him was that I was scared of our future together. I wanted things back to way they were, when we were all in high school and no troubles. Well, other than passing classes, of course. If only things were like that now.

"I guess." Yuki seemed unsure but nodded anyways.

"I'm very happy that you put all this together for me. You didn't have to do that, you know?" How many times must I say that before Yuki grew tired of me saying it? He knew he didn't have to do it but he was always doing small things like this to show that he cared.

"I know. But I wanted to… I um…" Yuki turned his head. I could've sworn that he was going to say something irreversible. Something that was going change my way of feeling, coping, thinking… Actually, I knew what he was going to say. Yuki had said it many times to me but this time seemed more meaningful then all the others.

"I want you to know that, I love you very much."

"I know you do." As I began speaking again, he interrupted me.

"No. I mean, I love you as my wife, my other half, soul mate even…" Yuki turned back around, eyes glowing like a faint burning candle in the darkness. "You are the air I breathe, Miss Honda. The muscles in my body, the water that keeps me alive… Nothing less, Miss Honda. When I say I love you, I want you to know how much. Just saying that isn't enough."

"But Yuki it is. I know you love me. You don't have to prove yourself." I had never seen this side of Yuki before. My heart had never beated so hard before in my life. Just by Yuki's stunning words, I was swept right off my feet.

Yuki thought for a moment. He sat on his knees, holding my trembling hand, "I want to prove myself to you." I didn't get what he was getting at but Yuki looked past me. Almost like he caught a glimpse of something in the depths of the trees. He didn't seem bothered at all.

"Huh?" I wondered. He probably did see something but said nothing. Then he looked back at me, "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you… you are my life and always will be.

Ohmygawd! Ohmygawd! My heart beated so loudly. This was so much to take in. Of all the years I had known Yuki, this was something I never thought he'd say. Now what was I supposed to say? My words couldn't match up to his. I couldn't just agree with him, I had to say more, something meaningful. What was I supposed to do!

"I don't want you to say anything." Yuki read my mind. "I just wanted you to know how I felt." And I did. Yuki wasn't a random boy with a childhood infatuation. This was pure love he was feeling. He was ready to settle down, have kids, grow old even… but for me, I wanted to be with him, however I was scared to admit that I wasn't quite ready to be a family. I'm sure you would of thought the same if you were me.

…Right?

Suddenly our ears were engulfed by tiny squeaking sounds, followed by several little eyes staring at us. I gasped but Yuki remained calm, his eyes rolled annoyingly.

"Way to kill the mood…" Yuki sighed as a whole bunch of rats covered him from head to toe. They clung onto him like he was their mother. It was quite funny to me, though, my fiancé didn't find it very humorous. "This is so maddening…" Yuki sighed again, crossing his arms.

When Yuki's feelings and emotions were at their strongest, that's when he attracted rats. It was almost like an embarrassment for him and he would blush every single time. But I thought of it as a trust test; almost after every time Yuki confessed something to me, those rats would come. That revealed everything Yuki told me was genuine as gold.

But I helped him get rid of some of them and I began laughing as I did so. "It's getting late, Yuki. We should head back." I suggested after most of the rats disappeared. It didn't seem like it was very long but really we ended up staying at the lake till midnight. Yuki kept on looking past me to see if he could secretly see anything beyond where we were sitting. I finally turned around too. "Yuki are you okay?"

He blinked at me. "Yeah I'm okay. You're right it's getting late… we should go." His face changed into a serious one. "I'll bring back everything later."

He wanted to leave everything here? "Awe, won't you need help?"

Yuki stood up, "You don't need to worry… Let's just get you inside." It did seem like the night escaped us and the moon was already half way across the sky. We walked back holding hands. I felt safe with my hand in his. His hands were warm and comforting. Right then, I remembered how Kyo's hands felt earlier today; they were icy cold like a vampire's touch. But, at the same time I still felt safe like he wasn't going to hurt me or anything. There was something about Kyo that interested me.

"Yuki?" I asked in a small voice.

"Yes Miss Honda?"

"When you asked if Kyo did something to scare me, what were you meaning?" I expected him to give me a short answer but instead he let go of my hand, sighed and then stopped to look at me.

"Nothing, Miss Honda. I will protect you from any harm. You have nothing to worry about. Okay?" He didn't look at me when he said that. The reason could've been because he was so deep in thought. I don't know honestly. Finally we were back at the house and he stopped me at the door.

"I'm going back to get our things."

"Aw, but it's late and I don't want you to get hurt or anything…" I sighed, watching him walk back the way we came. "But Yuki?"

"Me get hurt?" he smiled lightly, "Don't worry I can handle myself, I'll be back." It seemed like he was on a mission to find something he had been looking for, he was that persistent. With that said, I just walked back in the house. Shigure was still up. I found him in the living room, proofreading one of his novels, when suddenly he looked up. "Oh hello, Tohru. Back so late?"

"Yuki made a picnic for me. So we stayed out longer than we wanted too." I embarrassingly admitted.

"A picnic huh? No wonder all my bed blankets were gone…" he sighed, jumping back on subject, "…That was sweet of him, though. A prologue to the honeymoon I suppose?" Shigure teased lightly, pull down his glasses to see me clearly.

"OH MY! No… I don't think…" I blushed.

"No worries, I was joking." Shigure laughed a little, "but seriously, that was nice of him. I will say, since you have been living here, he has been so open towards you. Knowing that he has someone to talk to other than his family, puts me at ease."

"Oh…" I smiled, "Thanks that means a lot…"

"But it won't be long until you're part of the family too… well," Shigure thought for a brief second, "I mean you'll be a part of our family officially."

After hearing that, I knew things wouldn't be irreversible.

"Kyo will be jealous if he isn't already." Shigure rambled on again, "I guess you're just that likable."

"Huh?" I wondered, "Why would he be jealous?"

"You can't see it?" he began to say then stopped, "Never mind dear. Forget what I said." Shigure slipped on his glasses and began reading again.

I left it alone, but a part of me wanted to know more about what everyone was hiding from me about Kyo but I didn't want to dig too deep and regret it. He couldn't have changed that much right? He was still Kyo Sohma, and still apart of this family.

"Shigure?"

"…Yes?" he looked up again.

"…If someone says to beware of a certain person but that person is your friend, what do you do?" I wondered.

"This is about Yuki and Kyo, right?" he wondered, smiling.

I took a step back, sinking deeper into my guilt. "Heh, maybe…"

Shigure gave me another knowing smile and I was surprised from the answer he gave me. "Well… it all depends on what you think… Would you believe anything and everything that Yuki says?" Shigure questioned me, "What if Yuki said that Kyo was really a man - eating beast, with five large fangs and when it struck 3am in the morning, he worshiped the devil…Would you believe that?"

I blushed, my hand on my mouth to keep me from giggling. "Of course not. That would be silly."

"Heh, I thought so. Don't forget Yuki and Kyo are rivals. Yuki could just be telling things so you just to scare you…" I know I'm gullible, but something about what Yuki said worried me. I was still convinced Yuki wasn't just telling me to beware of Kyo because, he didn't like him.

In fact, I know he wasn't just saying that. Yuki said it like he was scared for me or something; like he was worried about my own wellbeing. He's eyes warned me to stay away from Kyo. That couldn't have been jealousy or unfairness. He really wanted me to stay away, then he vowed that he would protect me from whatever was in my way.

…Whatever in my way, I assumed he meant Kyo.

"However I will say…" Shigure was serious now. He closed his book and took off his glasses. "You might have to watch yourself around Kyo…"

My heart jumped. "What?"

"I'm talking about the year of the cat… the curse Kyo has." he continued, "…there is more, you know?"

I was shocked to be honest, I guess I was right. There was much more to the curse that then I had even imagined. I stepped closer to Shigure's chair, realizing that he had begun speaking quietly. I guess he didn't want the others to know about what he was going to reveal to me.

"…This is something that all Sohmas go through in time. As we all grow older and mature, the power of the zodiac signs get stronger. Our bodies become equipped with abilities of our Zodiac. This occurs in human form, I might add. Abilities, such as strength, speed, awareness, and even our five senses become enhanced. Of course, we can do this when we transform too. The choice to transform is at our will now too, but we still transform under stress or touched by the opposite sex."

"I see." So that meant Yuki went through changes too in his zodiac sign. Clumsy me for not noticing right away. Maybe he didn't want to tell me. I was pretty sure Shigure wasn't supposed to be telling me this either.

"…But," Shigure continued, "Kyo…who was cursed with the cat, had to undergo different changes with his curse. This has made him much different the rest of the Sohmas and different from you as a normal human being. His curse has made him much stronger too and at the same time, for that same reason, he's a threat."

"A… t-threat…" I trembled in my shoes. "But… if you're talking about his other form, I know about that already." I remembered Kyo's true form like it was yesterday. I thought nothing in this world could be scarier than that.

…But however it wasn't. Shigure shook his head slowly. "No Tohru. I'm talking about something else that has made him stronger and that is why you need to be careful."

"He's not who you think he is. He's different now… a lot different. Just beware of him." Is that why Yuki said Kyo wasn't how he used to be? I couldn't think of anything else other than that.

"But…" Shigure took a breath then sighed, putting back on his glasses. "Again Tohru, It's all how you look at… You and Kyo are friends, he would never doing anything to hurt you. Yuki cares about you, and wouldn't want anything to happen to you…"

Meh, the moral of Shigure's story… I couldn't win either way… not until I found out more about Kyo Sohma.