And here is the continuation. Sorry for the double cliffhanger in the last two chapters, but this one should be a bit more satisfying. Second to last chapter, btw.

Kyo: Finally, it's almost over!

SnowyNeko: Oh, you enjoyed it.

Kyo: Says who?

SnowyNeko: Says me. :3 Sorry you weren't in it more, Kyo-Kitty.

Kyo: I didn't want to be in it in the first place!

Yuki: Be quiet you stupid cat.

Kyo: HUH!? YOU WANNA FIGHT, YA DAMN RAT?

Yuki: You shouldn't assume I want to fight every time someone calls you stupid.*glares* You stupid cat.

Kyo: YOU'RE A DEAD RAT!

Yuki: *Blocks attack and pushes Kyo back, looking annoyed*

SnowyNeko: Kyo, have you ever heard of anger control?

Kyo: WHAT'D YOU SAY!?

SnowyNeko: Ooops! Gotta run! I don't own any of the Fruba characters or anything!

"Vierra? Vierra! Doctors! Doctors, come quickly! She's waking up!" All the other voices meld into a buzz, my ears ringing like the echo of a bell. A hand takes mine and I tense. It's… coarse. Real.

I flinch away from the old familiar feeling, one I haven't felt for weeks. Why? What happened to Yuki's miraculously smooth hand? Where is he?

Breath caught, my eyes flutter open. To my horror, everything looks abnormally normal. The textures, the colors, the shadows; they're all normal. My eyes dart from one place to another as the realization dawns on me. Yuki isn't here. I'm back in my world.

At my bedside is mom (actually my aunt), gazing at me with hope. A bright light shines in my eyes and I jerk back reflexively, blinking furiously.

"Her reactions are standard," the doctor proclaims, then holding up his fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

I stare blankly at the doctor before responding, "Three."

He nods and scribbles something down. "Now, can you smile for me?"

"I don't want to," I tell him, turning my head to look out the window. The sun is shining, the sky a cloudless pure blue. Outside the hospital window, which is where I assume I am, is a sparkling aqua lake with white ducks, and a green flowing pasture beyond it in the far distance. It's an absolutely gorgeous day, and yet, to me it feels so dull. The shades of colors pale in comparison to the electric beauty of the world inside Fruits Basket.

I glance down at my own hand, feeling numb when I find it ridged and flawed. I had gotten used to the world of perfection, but I don't think it'll be possible for me to revert back.

Sigh. How boring.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Mom bursts into sobs, Dad's arm resting on her shoulders and holding her close. "First you, then Cassidy…"

That captures my attention. "What happened to Cassidy?" I ask, sitting up abruptly. The doctor tries to ease me back down, but I stubbornly refuse to comply. I repeat myself. "What happened to her?"

Mom's too emotionally unstable to tell me, so Dad explains for her. "When you were in your coma, she bought you a gift…nerve gear."

Before he can go on, I screech, "I was gone for two weeks, and they invented nerve gear!?"

"They also made a game of that anime you loved so much. Ah, what was it called?" The blood drains out of my face as he tries to think up the name.

"Don't tell me," I tremble, fist clenching. "She's stuck in SAO."

"She wanted to test it out to make sure it was safe before giving it to you."

"Let me see her!" I demand, swinging my feet to the floor. I rip the IV out of my arm, wincing, while the doctor attempts to stop me. "Where is she?"

No getting an answer, I slam the door open and sprint down the hallway, peeking in every door window I pass. I skid to a stop suddenly, noticing practically every patient is wearing a nerve gear set. Choosing one at random, I barrel into the room.

It's Cassidy. I recognize the purple stripe in her hair and her favorite blue sweater dress. Tired, I collapse by her side, arms on the bed to support me. It's true; she really is trapped like I was. Only, her prison has an explanation. I hope she enjoys it, at least, like I did.

As I examine her for injury, my eyelids droop. Before they close though, my sight lands on my bracelet. Staring back at me is the tiny crystal rat, as real as the world around it. However, its eyes glimmer with a peculiar violent purple.

"It was real," I whisper, energy probably draining faster than healthy. "Yuki is real."

I spend the next few days in the hospital, drifting between worlds. The second I close my eyes, weary of just being awake, I'm back inside Fruits Basket. I'm never able to open my eyes, but sometimes I can feel Yuki's hand in mine, or hear Shigure chiding Kyo for destroying his house. Almost always, I can smell Tohru's cooking and wake up hungry.

As long as I'm not taking catnaps during school hours, Yuki is regularly by my side talking to me in a one-sided conversation. Even though I want nothing more than to smile at him and chat, the most I've ever been able to manage is to grip his hand, but I can only do that when he's already holding my hand and that's only some of the time.

Whenever I wake up, I hold the crystal rat in my palm over my heart and watch another episode of Fruits Basket. From it, I learn about the Sohma family in depth. I meet both Kagura and Ritsu, who are both more over the top than even Tohru. The backgrounds of Hatori, Momiji, Haru and Ayame are explored. I cry, missing them all. I turn into a bawling wreck when I learn of Yuki's past. It's horrible! I find myself deploring Akito down to the bottom of my soul.

Mom and Dad have become worried about the extent of my obsession with the anime, but the doctor assures them frequently I'm just an everyday teenager, overcoming my own problems. My attention must be earned for every response they expect out of me. If I don't hear something of interest or desire something, I wont speak.

The only actually conversations I can carry are the ones when someone brings me an update on Cassidy's condition. Still, I manage to keep an unreadable mask when they inform me every time she shows no signs of waking up. They sugar coat it, of course, but I see right through it. I recall vividly that in the anime, it took two years for them to escape. I refrain from mentioning it, though. I might've been in an actual anime, but Cassidy is in a game only based off an anime. She may get out within the next hour for all we know.

Mom offered to buy me a plush rat yesterday since she said I showed such a preference for him, to which I strictly declined. I have my gift from Yuki and I don't want anything else.

Right now, I'm traveling back to Fruits Basket. Soon enough, I'm no longer in the hospital bad. Instead, I'm underneath heavy blankets with a cold ice pack on my head and two pillows supporting me. My injured arm lies comfortably on my stomach and my other hand rests in Yuki's grasp. Summoning all my willpower, I curl my finger around his. I know he's smiling without having to see him.

"I went to school today, Vierra," he notifies me. "Everyone's forgotten about the prom. I overheard some girls discussing on how they have no idea why they bought such expensive dresses. Akito and Hatori definitely took care of it quickly.

"You should see it. Everything's gone back to normal. Momiji turned into a rabbit on school grounds again, and Black Haru hasn't appeared since.

"I picked raspberries from my secret base this afternoon. I told you about it, didn't I? Once you're better, I'll take you to see it."

He raises his hand to kiss it and I mentally jolt. I can feel the tears on his cheeks.

"Get well soon," he begs softly. "I miss you."

My eyes grow watery and I'm suddenly back in the hospital room. I grab my pillow and turn my face into it to muffle my sobs.

I miss you too, Yuki. Why'd I have to come back here? How can I go back, though? I don't know how I got there in the first place, let alone how to return. But wait a second, there was something wasn't there? Before, on my birthday, I tripped down the stairs. My crooked arm remains my constant reminder of that. I do seem to vaguely recall hitting my head on the way down. It was then I woke up in the alternate world. And before I came back… I massage the back of my head at the memory.

I was in a coma, apparently, while I was in Fruits Basket. Does that mean whenever this body is unconscious, I transfer to the other? I mean, I am able to half return when I fall asleep. If that's the case, does that mean I'm stuck in a limbo between the two worlds? To go like this forever would be agony, but I'm not about to give up my life with Yuki. Does that mean I'm certain to live in hell for the rest of my life, drifting between two realities? I don't want to let go of Yuki, but it isn't like I can leave this world for good.

Can I?

Back to the world of reality! Or is the other one the real world... honestly, it could be either and neither at the same time. Complicated sciencey theories and stuff. ANYWAY, the next chapter will be the last. I look forward to posting it (I already have it written) and to see your guys's reactions. Also, I'll mention next chapter how other people and I think Vierra looks.

Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!