Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Everybody Wants Her ❯ Chapter Seven - Ammunition ( Chapter 7 )

A/N: Welcome back. This chapter here is pretty Tohru-centric, unlike the others, which skip around quite a bit more than this one will. I apologize to those of you who hate her guts, but if you skip out on this chapter, the rest of it is going to be unfathomable. There's a wee bit of Akito in here too, plus maybe a paragraph about Kyo. Don't worry, there'll be more face time for the guys later on.

 

So yeah, enjoy the creepy wonders of chapter seven!

 

~`~`~

 

Everybody Wants Her

Chapter Seven - Ammunition

 

~`~`~

 

Honeybee has to go to school. She hasn't done a drop of schoolwork since she came to stay with Akito, she's unprepared and scared but Yuki's coming, he's just not allowed to run through the woods or carry heavy books. For gym he's in yoga while all his friends take track.

Kyo-kun's not going to school of course. His days don't change except that everyday just seems to suck a whole lot more than the last one did. Mostly he thinks about things like how much kitty litter does he need to shovel down his stomach if he wants to die. Tohru hasn't come and neither has Kazuma, the man's off in China or something and probably doesn't even know what's going on. Not that he could change a thing if he came here, not that any one of Aki's slaves would back him up. Everyone's thoroughly convinced that Kyo's a monster and it doesn't quite matter if they care for him or not.

Not that they do. To say Kyo's name is deep betrayal, Akito hates him more than anybody in the whole wide world. He doesn't know much, his minds been clouded with morphine and he hasn't quite noticed Tohru's comings and goings. But she's still fucking Kyo-kun unprotected, still feeling absolutely filthy every time. She's coated in mud with every movement; she's a whore who has to shower each time she crawls into bed with Akito. After the first time she grew cautious, figured Akito might sniff out her secret. It never crosses her mind that his sense of smell is pretty much shot.

These days though, there isn't any bed to crawl back into. Akito's up and on the prowl, barging into every room and blaring commands, just pissing people off because he can. The pneumonia's gone but he's still coughing, killing his broken rib. He likes how the bandages bulk him up, keep him from looking quite so twiggy. Maybe he's a man now, maybe he's worth Tohru's time. He hates that she's in school, hates the lonely days without her. Kyo can't stand it either, no one feels at ease without their darling Tohru.

At least she's coming home to Akito. At least she still makes love to Kyo. Neither one knows how absolutely lucky they are, how fortunate the other is.

 

~`~`~

 

Tohru-kun picks her head up, has a spaz-fit in her seat because she's fallen asleep again. Calculus is far from fascinating, she's tried to keep up but she can't, the desk's like a magnet for her bang-brushed forehead.

Uo-chan laughs, tells Tohru-kun to just calm down. “Stupid, if you flip out like that then the teacher might actually notice.” And Tohru smiles, says Uotani's right and she's sorry. She scribbles down notes like they mean something, tries to get the numbers being droned down pat.

When the tiredness subsides it's easy to pay attention. She and the girls aren't talking, she hasn't a clue what to say. Tohru's too far removed from them, since she's been assimilated into the Sohma she feels like she's another species. She's had a month and a half to reconnect but she's failing, she barely even tries. The best she can do is huddle with Yuki at lunch, compare notes with him on Akito. From him she learns the little things, like Akito's favorite color and the fact that he can't stand sushi at all. Yuki still won't open up about his childhood alone with him, and that's just fine, Tohru'd rather not hear anything that would dilute the love she's feeling.

But anyway, her friends aren't thrilled, and when she thinks she can get away with it Uo-chan leans over and pokes Tohru in the head. “Hey,” she says, “meet me and Hana by the library after school, alright?”

She smiles, shakes her head and says there's no way she can make it. She's worked out a pretty strict schedule with her Aki-kun, he wants her home immediately every day. And she'll comply, she knows he's lonely and Tohru's won't say it but she's scared. Weak as he is he's got the family in his thrall, she knows she can't trust anyone. Everyday she's picked up by Hari in his car, Akito lounging in the backseat if he's up for it. They snog while they ride, make love loud enough for Hatori to hear it. Of course she feels bad, of course she is humiliated. Bu what she feels is irrelevant, she's serving Akito and the Sohma respects that.

They don't speak to her anymore though. They don't seem to like her so much. She's still got Yuki on her side but its not like he knows, its not like he's in the secluded, creepy little loop. She thinks it's funny that he's naïve instead of her.

Uo-chan jabs her harder, asks her why the hell she's been avoiding them. “I miss you Tohru, how come you haven't spoken to me properly in months? We're supposed to be best friends.”

“I know, I'm sorry Uotani it's just that I have a lot of stuff to do. You know, homework and college applications. I can hardly believe you and Hana have time for anything.” She laughs, ashamed of her lousy little lie. They haven't started fretting over college yet, the way things look she doesn't even know if she'll go. And they're not getting any more homework than they labored under last year.

“Why are you calling me Uotani?” she asks, spitting out her own name like it's cyanide. “Good god Tohru, you're more familiar with that freaky bitch Motoko. Guess that makes sense, she's the prince's rabid fangirl and he's the only one you ever seem to talk to anymore. Are you two going out or something?”

The teacher's head snaps up and he glares at them, tells them to shut up and listen unless they don't feel like graduating. When Uo tries to talk Tohru shushes her, the threat of failure zips through her brain as she scratches out notes. Graduating means more to her than Akito, she promised her mom she'd get through this stupid school. To Tohru-kun a promise means the world, that's why she feels she can't turn Kyo-kun down. She promised she'd go out with him, god that's a binding contract in Tohru's mind.

“You'd better meet us,” Uo-chan says, getting busy on her own work. “It's been way too long.”

 

~`~`~

 

Tohru-kun's sorry, she's really sorry but she just can't meet them. She wants to see her friends, wants to reconnect but Aki's waiting, being late is tantamount to leaving him forever. So she stalks out to the parking lot, hands clenched tight on the straps of her backpack. She fastwalks, runs almost, and she feels like throwing up. But Hana's there, grinning and waving with a tilt of her hand. And Tohru can't ignore her, years of friendship drag her right back in. “Hanajima-san,” she says, smiling blandly `cause she has to go. “You're not in any of my classes this year. I've missed you.”

“I've missed you too Tohru-kun, which is why Uo and I were hoping you'd accompany us somewhere. I'm not exactly sure where she wants to go, but we'll catch up to her and figure that out, hm?” And she's sounds so sure that Tohru-kun won't tell her no, Tohru feels bad and forgets that Hana always knows more than she lets on. “Come on,” she says. “Uo-chan's waiting by the library.”

“I can't,” says Tohru, brushing her hair back and blushing. “I have to uh…I'm meeting someone! And I need to get going, so can we just do this another time?” She's fidgeting, nervous, she knows what she said just sinks her lower in dear friend's eyes. Hana frowns, asks Tohru-kun just who's more important than her best friends. “Oh Hana don't take it like that! I love you guys and you know that I just…I'm busy! Please understand…”

“You seem very uncomfortable Tohru-kun,” says Hana, trying to keep the deep hurt out of her tone. “Preoccupied. Please know that Uo and I are always here for you no matter what. We can't help you any if you don't explain though.”

“Nothing's wrong,” Tohru says, straight-up lying with no facts to back her up. “Everything's just the same Hana-chan, it's just that I'm busy. I'm really sorry.”

“Does it have anything to do with Kyo-kun?” Tohru freezes at this, throws hands to her chest and wonders why everything tastes metallic. “He hasn't been in school, has anything happened to him? Maybe that's why you're such a wreck…”

“Kyo-kun's just…ahhh…” She stretches her mind, tries to recall what Aki-kun told her she should say. “He went back to the mountains to keep training, I think. Right, that's it.” She laughs. “I'm sure he'll be very strong when he's finished.”

“That's odd,” says Hana and Tohru flinches, feels sick because she got this wrong. Kyo's lock-up is probably illegal, it could land her Aki-kun in jail. All she sees now is her baby in prison, suffering the rages of his other cellmates. They'd be so much bigger than he is…

“W-why is it odd?” asks Tohru, snatching herself out of her morbid mindset. “I mean martial arts are his passion, aren't they?”

“Well you'd think he'd want to get his high school degree first…” But Hana trails off, doesn't push the subject because she knows that Tohru's scared. “Look,” she says. “We just want to see you. Uo's going to bite my head off if I come back without you, so please Tohru? We miss you, we love you, whoever's waiting can wait.”

Tohru's brain backs up to Akito, thinks of him sitting pissed in the back of the car, crossing his arms and glowering. His ribs must hurt, he must be yelling at Hatori, kicking the seat with impatience. She knows that Hari'll get hurt if she doesn't show, knows that she'll be wholly blamed. But Aki needs her and he'll forgive, he'll take her back because without her he feels like nothing, feels like shit. Uo-chan won't wait for her, won't forgive her if she turns her down. And she doesn't want to lose her friends.

She nods. “Okay,” she says. “I'll come with you.”

 

~`~`~

 

Well Tohru's right, he's kicking the seat, he's screaming and collapsed in tears. “WHERE IS SHE!?!” he wails, throwing Hari forward and he tries not turn around and strangle him. Akito crawls to the front, curls up in the cold man's lap. “She's not here Hatori, she hates me…I wanna die, I wanna die Hari please please make me die…”

“Akito,” he says, eyes ahead and he won't look at him. “You're being ridiculous. I'm sure she has a good reason for being late.”

“Yeah,” says Akito, swiping at tears and clutching his chest, the rib just aches so badly. “She's got a great reason Hatori, she can't stand me! She's never coming back!”

And Hatori just sighs, slumps backwards in the driver's seat. Aki's on his lap and he doesn't feel like reassuring him. He's tired, god he's tired of this lame pathetic man-god. Day in and day out its just meds disease and clinging and if Akito would just say thank you…whatever, what he wants is just whatever so he strokes Aki's back as he sobs.

He can feel how much it hurts inside him. Just by touching him, Hatori can tell.

 

~`~`~

 

“Oh awesomeness on a stick Tohru, I knew you wouldn't let us down!” Uo-chan sweeps Tohru in a hug, plops kisses on her forehead while she just smiles nervously. God she's never felt more awkward in her life. But Tohru opens her big blue eyes, tells the two she's just so glad to see them. “You'd better be, I mean you had us worried. Had me kinda pissed off actually, and now is not the right time of the month to piss me off, if you know what I mean.”

The girls nod in agreement, Tohru scans the halls for boys who might just be embarrassed. Soon they're comparing menstrual horror stories, Hana detailing the incredible cramps suffered the last time. Tohru tries to pipe up with a story, realizes then that she hasn't actually had hers in a while. Except for when she bled on Akito, she's been period-free for two months.

That's…not good.

That's really not good at all.

Tohru-kun's hands float down to her stomach, she feels around and tries to figure if she's filled up with a baby. She's looking down and she's not listening, Hana and Uo shut their mouths when they see their darling's hands. “Tohru-kun,” says Hana, flicking her eyes down to the spot where Tohru stares. “Is something wrong?”

Tohru grins, takes her hands away and she says she just feels sick. She does, she does, god she's nauseated. Every breath she takes just makes it worse, she can't get the stink of Hana's perfume away from her nose, the taste of coins out her mouth. “I'm okay,” she says. Then in contradiction she asks them how they think they'd know if they were pregnant.

“Um…” Uo widens her eyes, puts her hands on her hips and stares at Tohru. “I guess you wouldn't have your period…I don't really know, why do you ask Tohru?”

And Tohru just can't say it, she's rocking back and forth on her feet and blushing hard. Uo-chan already knows what Tohru's asking for. “I guess this explains why you've been so distracted. I assume you haven't taken a test yet.”

She shakes her head says no, god no she doesn't know. This hasn't occurred to Tohru `til now, she didn't connect the nausea with anything but living with Akito. If he's so sick she should be too, it's only fair. And her cycle's never been a burden, she never really noticed the delay. So she tells Uo no, wonders if her best friend thinks she's stupid now.

“Well,” says Uo. “I guess I know what we're doing today. Now let me guess, the prince is the father right? I knew you two were going out, I knew it! God Tohru, why didn't you tell us? I always tell you when I have a new boyfriend!”

“We're not,” she says, “it isn't Yuki.” And Tohru sighs, shuts her eyes and lets Hana-chan envelop her. She's all folded warm in a hug and for a while she's quiet, then she whispers soft, “I'm not really sure who it is…”

Uotani, she's just shocked. Hana acts like she's blasé, like who Tohru-kun's banging couldn't interest her any less. She shuffles her feet and sniffles, leaves Uo-chan to do the talking, the shaking of Tohru by the shoulders. “What do you mean you don't know?! It's one thing to have a boyfriend but sleeping around?! That's not safe Tohru, it's not right and it's not you! When the hell did this happen?”

Tohru ducks her head to the side, mutters low like she's been smacked. “'M sorry Uo-chan, I…you wouldn't understand I…don't be mad at me…”

“I'm not mad at you Tohru, I'm just worried! And confused. You've never done anything like this in your life before and now you're pregnant. I mean you can get an abortion but…Jesus Tohru…”

Hana steps in, says maybe they should go someplace else. “Somebody could hear and unfortunately, Tohru-kun already has enough enemies in Yuki's fan club. We don't want to provide them with ammunition.”

They all agree on this being a good point, so they hightail out of there, head out of school for the grocery store. “We can pick up some tests in here,” says Uo-chan. “And then I guess we'll head somewhere where you can try `em out and explain yourself. Where's good, your house? I don't want my mom to think they're mine.”

Tohru shakes her head, she can't go back to where her friends believe is home. Shi-chan's hired an exterminator to bomb out all the bugs, the house isn't safe `til they've finished. Apparently roaches cause asthma attacks, and while Hari's battery of tests haven't determined if that's one of Yuki's problems, roaches are still pretty gross. For now home is the Main House, home is Akito's room.

And she really has to be getting back there.

“Look,” she says, “I'm staying with Yuki's relatives because we've hired an exterminator…too many roaches, y'know, it's icky. But we can go over there if you want, I'm sure no one will mind…”

“Oh do you mean Momiji and Haru and those other guys?” asks Uo-chan, smiling hard because she thinks they're cute, she loves Momiji's sloppy grin. Hana's pretty happy too, that kid is Tohru-kun all over. But Tohru tells them no, neither one will be there. “I think you met Hatori, we should see him…oh and there's Akito, he's sort of the family head…you'll need to be respectful…”

“Not to worry Tohru-kun, we'll be on our best behavior,” Hana says and Uo just snorts, respect for men doesn't come easy to her. She shrugs, says whatever and they walk along, buy the stuff while Tohru reads the greeting cards. She's too embarrassed, she can't even look at the thin little box in Uo-chan's hands.

When they're done she's hustled out, none of them really talk until they've gotten to the Main House. They try but Tohru's terrified, it's all the poor girl can do to keep walking. So they just keep quiet, let it slide.

 

~`~`~

 

When they reach the house though, they don't spare her an interrogation. Tohru's squatting over the toilet in Akito's bathroom, peeing on a pregnancy test while Uo-chan blasts questions at her. “So do we know him?” she asks, arms crossed as she leans on the door. “Is it somebody at school?”

Tohru tells her no, stares down at the strip and reads the directions over and over to make sure this awful news is right. Pink means she's pregnant and guess what? The damn thing's pink, pulsing pounding blushing goddamn pink and Tohru's pregnant. “S-should I, should I use more than one?” she asks, hoping the next one will yield a non-life-changing answer.

“Well duh,” scoffs Uo, rolling her eyes and laughing mildly. Hana's stony-faced and Uo-chan stops, this whole this isn't really all that funny. “Um, yeah Tohru. You'll want to take three or four because they come out wrong sometimes.”

So Tohru does, gives up on number four because she's out of urine, it doesn't matter because all of them are pink. She washes up, scrubs her hands half-raw and tears are falling, Tohru's sobbing, saying, “God I'm such a slut…”

Her friends raise their eyebrows, Hana walks in. She braids Tohru's hair, does all she can to make her feel sweet and young and innocent. “What makes you say that, Tohru-kun?”

:”I'm, I, uh…I'm h-having…I um, d-did things w-with two, two guys. And I dunno which one's the father and I really really hope it's this one guy `cause I love him but he's probably gonna die in a couple years and the other one's locked up and and and oh god…!” Hana keeps up with the hair thing, pats the poor girl's back as she slides to the floor. Uo-chan's not so sensitive, she's absolutely got to get this clarified because Tohru's not making too much sense. There's more prying and prodding, more questions about the who-what-when-where-why-and-how.

“N-no…I c-can't tell you any more I…” She looks up at them with hollow eyes, sighs hard and doesn't tell the I can't trust you. But she can't, there's a lot they could do with the information. They don't know Akito and they don't care, they'd have in jail in ten seconds flat if they knew what he was doing to Kyo. And Uo-chan's not above telling him all about her, throwing in his face the fact that he's unloved. Everything in her says just protect him, she can't trust her friends or herself or anyone but Akito.

“What do you mean you can't tell us, Tohru you're talking about someone who's in jail!” Uo-chan yells `cause she's freakin' pissed, she can't stand Tohru keeping all these secrets. “Me and Hana are your best friends in the world or did you forget that? If you can't tell us then who the hell are you gonna tell? Who else will help you?”

“A-akito will help me…” she mumbles and Uotani blinks, she's never heard of this Akito guy. She's about to speak up, rail at her again but Hana stops her, puts her hand to her chest and looks down.

“Arisa,” she says, all formality just out the window now. It's her first name, her real name and Hana doesn't know what else she can use to get through to her. “Just let it go. Tohru-kun will tell us when she's ready.”

And Tohru just feels so bad because she doesn't think she'll ever be ready to tell the truth.

 

~`~`~

 

Time is something you perceive when you feel human. When Akito's sick out of his mind and screaming, time drags on for decades while he waits for all the meds he's downed to work. When he walks into the bathroom and sees Tohru on the floor, time just stops itself right there. For two seconds, two years and two millennia, the two of them just stare each other down. “Y-you…” he says as he grips the sink, tries to keep from keeling over. “T-tohru…you…you weren't there. You abandoned me to be with them. You did. You did that Tohru. I…” He bites his lip, draws blood and howls because he didn't cry when he had a migraine in the morning.

Tohru-kun stands up, smiles wide and grabs for Akito, puts his fragile hand in an iron grip. “My friends are here,” she hisses. “Be nice to my friends. Don't say anything that'll make them hate you.”

And Akito, he can't say no, can't tell her she's not God and she doesn't call the shots in the Sohma house. It doesn't matter, none if it matters because he hasn't lost her, Tohru's still his if he does her bidding. He'll be good, he'll be so good if she'll just love him. “Okay,” he says, “okay.”

Tohru marches them to the living room, strong, she's strong and Akito's hunched over, coughing and clutching his chest. Tohru stares him down, looks hard and wants to hold him. Cushion poor Akito against the inevitable. This babies a bomb, Tohru's ammunition if she really wants to hurt him.

 

~`~`~

 

Nana: See what I mean when I say this is a pivotal chapter? I'm sure some of you were expecting this but anyway, Tohru's pregnant. Yep. Hopefully I'll be able to pull chapter eight out of my brain and onto the compy come next week, and you'll see where things go from there! Who do you think will be happier when they find out, Kyo or Akito? Haha. Anyway, review me and have a nice day!