Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Love and Amnesty ❯ Now and Forever ( Chapter 3 )

I stop by Ayame's shop to clean myself up. I take a shower and wash the blood out of my hair. Ayame is more than happy to dress me up.

"Don't even think about dressing me in a maid's uniform, we're not in the eighth grade anymore…" I say, cautious of his over-excited expression.

"Please?" he whimpers giving me puppy-dog eyes.

"Aya, I'm a dog. I'm immune to puppy faces. Stop imagining me in a dress before I bite you."

"Aha! I've got just the thing!" he says happily and scampers behind the curtains.

I check my watch.

1:13 PM.

Everyone's at school by now, unless Tohru's really going to sue me…

"TA DAAAAAAA~"

Ayame is holding the suit Hatori let me borrow. The one Tohru left here to have it cleaned. I put it on, and Ayame tells me I look better than he does. Now that's a complement.

"Well, good luck," he says pleasantly, giving me a playful slap. I love Aya to pieces. I would be nothing without him.

I leave the store a changed man.

I enter the house through my office entrance, so no one will notice I'm here. All is silent. I walk out of my office and through the main hallway to the foyer.

The house is empty. By 2:00 it will be full of tension and anxiety.

But I am prepared to defend myself.

I go into the kitchen to make tea. I might as well catch up on my manuscript before my editor impales me. I turn the fire on and lean against the tiled wall. I know exactly what I need to do. I'm not going to be afraid. I'm not going to deny the truth. I am going to do the right thing.

The second they walk in through that door, they will all feel it.

I'm not going to lose.

I'm not going to lose Tohru.

It doesn't matter how lowly she thinks of me now. All that matters it that I make sure she's not holding a tainted impression of me.

Even if she leaves me forever.

If it comes down to that, I will take it like a man.

There is nothing I can't do.

Nothing.

1:59:56 PM.

3…

2…

1…

The door opens. I hear the lively chatter of three voices. I hear the sound of shoes being removed, bags being tossed aside.

"We're home," Tohru says.

"Ms. Honda," Yuki says. "The dog's not here right now. I checked the house early this morning. He just up and disappeared."

"Where do you think he went?"

"He probably went crying to Hatori," Kyou says.

"Would you like me to fix you all some tea?" Tohru says.

"Thank you Tohru, that would be great."

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

I hear footsteps going up the stairs…that's Yuki. He always goes upstairs to do his homework early. I hear steps leading to the living room…that's Kyo. He always goes into the living room to watch TV.

I hear footsteps coming in my direction. Does Tohru know I'm in the kitchen?

She comes into the kitchen, not noticing I'm here. She is searching the cabinets for tea bags.

"Looking for this?" I say, holding up the box.

I hear her sharp intake of breath; she's nervous already.

"Relax," I say. "I already made tea. I'll pour you a cup,"

"N-no thank you," she says, backing out of the kitchen.

"Tohru!" I say sharply.

She spins around, looking at me but keeping her distance.

"I think we need to talk."

"Actually, I have some work I need to do, if I could just-"

"I think we need to talk," I say again.

"H-hai?"

"Sit down," I say.

She sits.

"Tohru." I remain standing. This is so I can establish dominance.

"Hai?"

"Are you going to sue me?"

"I don't want to."

"Why not? Aren't you mad at me?"

"N-no. Perhaps just a bit taken aback."

"Are you aware of the circumstances under which I acted so impetuously last night?"

"No," She says, studying her lap.

"Tohru," I say sincerely, "I apologize. I didn't mean to startle you. I would never do anything to hurt you or upset you. You know that, right?"

"Hai."

"Tohru, I respect you too much to do anything like that. The only reason I did it was because I didn't want you to wake up knowing you had fallen asleep studying. I suppose it couldn't be avoided to begin with, but I made a valiant effort. As much as I wanted to, it just felt wrong. I couldn't bring myself to finish what I had started. I was just leaving you alone when you shrieked and Yuki and Kyou came in. I know what I did was wrong, and I admit I may not have had the best intentions at heart, but as hard as I try, I can deny it no longer."

She is looking at me curiously, her eyes are wide, but not with anger or resentment.

Her eyes are full of compassion and forgiveness.

I kneel down and look at her so that my eyes can deliver the message my voice may fail to convey.

"Tohru, I love you."

She doesn't say anything.

"I know you may not love me back, hell, for all I know you must despise me by now. Tohru, I've known a lot of women throughout my life. And I've loved each and every one of them to the full capacity of my heart. But when I look at you, I feel something else." I gently lifted one of her delicate hands and placed it over my heart.

"I've just realized," I say warmly, "that I'm in love, for the very first time in my life."

I am half expecting her to look at me with disgust, half expecting her to get up and walk away. But what happens next I was not ready for.

She starts to cry.

Not tears of misery. Not tears of anger.

"Shigure," she says, the tears cascading down her cheeks. "I love you too, but…"

"Yes…" I say.

More tears. I feel myself getting choked up, but I made a vow that I would not let the tears fall.

Never again.

I look at the expression in her eyes.

I knew my love would not be returned. I expected it to be something like this.

But I never expected it to hurt so much.

"Shigure," she says. "Shigure, I love you so much. Every day you're here for me. Everyday you show me how much you care, for nothing in return. How can I be anything but grateful for having you in my life?"

She looks at me, tears streaming, eyes shining with emotion.

I hold her face in my hands, brushing aside a few strays of her hair.

I kiss her.

Not a gagging shove-your-tongue-down-my-throat-kiss but a passionate, loving and tender kiss. I feel her responding to me, deepening our kiss. I can feel all this need, all this love, and all this emotion flowing out of her and into me. I feel complete.

We both pull away slowly, and I watch in delight as her face breaks into this huge smile, a smile that tells me everything I've wanted to hear for so long.

"Shigure, I love you. Honestly I do. I'm grateful for your love. I'm happy- so happy to feel appreciated."

"Do you love me enough to be my girlfriend?" I ask with a wink.

"Shi-Chan, I love you as so much more than that. I love you as though you were a part of me, as though you are my family. Shigure, I am nothing without you."

"And I am nothing without you," I say.

"Exactly," she says kindly. "You are the person I come to when I need help the most. When I come home, I'm happy to see your face. I'm happy to be your friend. And I'll be happy to be your friend from now until eternity."

That's it.

That's all I wanted to hear.

"I'm happy to be your friend."

It's all I ever needed to hear.

I blink. The tears fall.

I don't care about my vows anymore. The only thing I care about is Tohru.

"Shigure, we can never be a couple because we're already so much more then that. We're family. I know you understand."

"I understand," I say.

She looks at me with loving eyes, in a "friendly" way.

"Shigure," she whispers. "I forgive you."

"Thank you Tohru," I say.

"Thank you for being my friend."

3:00 comes and goes.

I've locked out my editor. I'll call her later. I still have a lot to do.

From downstairs I can hear the uproar:

"WHAT?! YOU'RE NOT GONNA SUE HIM!? YOU COULD GET RICH, AND I'M NOT JUST SAYIN' THAT! THAT MOTHER FUCKER HAS MONEY!"

"Kyou-Kun, we worked things out."

"YOU WORKED THINGS OUT?! I'LL HAVE HIS HEAD!"

"Yuki-Kun, everything's okay now."

That's right…

Everything's okay now…

Now and forever…

-FIN-

I really hope you enjoyed reading my fanfiction as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Fruits Basket and all characters, trademarks and related indicia are all © of Natsuki Takaya and Hana to Yume.

April 29, 2004

10:04 PM