Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Meeting Kuri ❯ The Real Reason ( Chapter 3 )

Tohru: Hi again, everyone! It's me, Tohru! Something weird has been happening ever since Kuri-san has come to stay with us at Shigure's. I can't really place the feeling…

Kyo: It's called `adult idiocy'.

Yuki: Or hearts that have never really mended…

Tohru: Hm? What do you mean by that Yuki?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter Three: The Real Reason

**

Shigure winced as he walked quickly down the stairs; the sound of porcelain cracking against the wall leaking through from the room that Kuri was in. His breathing quickened as he felt pain resurface but he squashed it back down. It had been years… He should have been over it, damn it! But alas… he was not… He smiled wryly to himself, his thoughts going to his good friend Hatori.

Hari, I truly know how you feel, the dog thought and shook his head, using humor to lighten his demeanor when he saw Tohru in the kitchen with the rice cooker. It'd be best not to let Tohru know of anything that had happened in the past between Kuri and myself. She would only become worried, Shigure added to himself as he entered the kitchen with a goofy smile and was about to ask her what was for dinner.

"Shigure? Did you hear that loud smashing sound coming from upstairs?" The high school girl asked, her sweet voice sounding slightly concerned. The writer's gray blue eyes widened but he quickly smiled softly and waved his arm slightly.

"Oh no, I didn't hear anything Tohru," He answered her stupidly. Tohru's eyebrows fixated together briefly before she closed her eyes and did that big, trusting smile of hers that made Shigure feel slightly guilty for lying to her.

"Oh! I must be hearing things then!" She giggled and started to bring out the dishes for dinner to the low table in the living room. "Yuki? Kyo?" Tohru called out of the sliding paper door in search for the two boys. Kyo leapt off the roof and landed soundly on the ground, turning to look at her. She jumped from his sudden landing but then smiled and said hello to him all the same.

"Dinner is nearly ready. Do you know where Yuki is?" she asked gently, walking out doors to stand beside the cat. Kyo scratched at his neck and rolled his eyes at her question.

"Wherever that damn rat goes is none of my business," he muttered, walking past her briskly into the house and closed the sliding door behind him. Tohru felt slightly confused by his sudden snap but shrugged and went to find the rat.

**

I wonder if he's at the base? Tohru wondered to herself, starting to head in the direction of the garden that Yuki tended to. She felt a slight chill in the air and shivered a bit, wondering why the weather had taken such a plummet lately. As she approached the base, she called out, "Yuki?" to verify if he was there or not.

And sure enough, he was. The handsome Sohma stood up and regarded her with calm and serene violet eyes that always made Honda Tohru's breath catch in her throat. The high school girl smiled to herself inwardly. Mom, I'm so lucky that I get to live with such a wonderful family like the Sohmas, she thought, sliding down the hill to the base. Yuki wiped his forehead with his gardening gloves briefly and smiled at her.

"Well good evening, Honda-san," He said politely, bowing a little bit. Tohru blushed and then bowed many times to `Prince' Yuki also.

"I came to tell you that dinner is nearly all ready. If you want, we can walk back to the house together and wash up," she offered, smiling up at her student council president.

"I would like that very much but I need to finish just a few more things up here. There are a few weeds that just sprouted up without me noticing and I'd like to get rid of them before they spread," Yuki replied, bending over to pull them out when he saw Tohru go for them first.

"I'll help you!" She exclaimed, her voice optimistic and cheerful.

The rat watched her and felt warmth rise in his chest. She was so cute and she didn't even know it. Yuki had told her so and of course, as modest as she was, she didn't even take knowledge to the hint he had given her. Yuki had always dropped hints towards her, knowing that with her density she would never know what he meant.

Yuki always wanted to tell her, `I like you Honda-san. I really like you'… but even though he knew she would never push him away, he was still afraid of being rejected, of being embarrassed… of having to face Akito's wrath if he discovered that he had admitted such a thing to the girl… I couldn't do that to her… Yuki thought but was brought out of his thoughts when the girl of his brooding shot up and saluted him.

"All finished, Captain Yuki!" Tohru proclaimed but then giggled in a silly way at seeing his soft smile. Yuki nodded to her and then removed his gardening gloves, resting them next to his gardening tools. He then took her small hand into his own, a rather bold move on his part. Both of their were faces pink from embarrassment. "Y-Yuki?" the high school girl stuttered, not sure what she should do at this point in time. Oh! Yuki is holding my hand! But… it's so dirty! Oh no! What if he knows that my hand is dirty and it's bothering him! AAAH! I have to wash them but what do I do? He's not letting go of my hand! Tohru thought in panic as she lightly tried to pull her hand out of Yuki's but then saw his face fault.

"Honda-san, do you not want to hold my hand?" Yuki asked gently, his voice curious. Tohru's eyes grew large and she let out a cry and started to panic.

"Oh no, Yuki! It's just that, my hands are dirty, really dirty and I don't want you to get the mud all over you and-" Yuki stopped her words by gripping her hand tighter and smiled gently down at her. Tohru gulped and felt her cheeks burn.

"It's all right," He whispered and started to walk along, pulling her a bit because she seemed frozen to the spot. "It's just a bit of dry dirt, Honda-san. Anyways, weren't we going back to the house to wash our hands?"

Tohru's mouth ran dry but she smiled and nodded, trying to tame the blush in her cheeks. "Y-yes… Yes we are…" she replied and Yuki nodded to her, the soft look still apparent on his face as they walked along together, hand in hand.

**

"Kuri!" Kyo called into the room, rapping on the door soundly. "It's time for dinner," he finished, his voice sounding irritated. The blonde haired woman looked down at her cut and bloodied hands from smashing the teapot and cups against the wall and sighed, the salt from her tears stinging into her deep gashes.

"Damn it…" she muttered, angry with herself for making such a scene and causing so much distress. She looked around for any place of escape except the door that Kyo was behind. "I'm not hungry Kyo-chan," she called back to him, her voice strained. Her puffy reddened eyes came across a window and she rushed to it, opening it quickly and jumped out, sliding down the side of the house carefully and rushed into the forest. She panted, sweat breaking out on her forehead. Damn that was reckless of me! Note to self: NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!

**

As Tohru and Yuki continued their slow walk to return to the house, Tohru heard rustling in the trees and surroundings. She stopped for a moment and looked around in all directions for the source of the noise. Yuki had noticed it too but simply flicked his eyes in different directions.

"Yuki? What do you think that is?" Tohru whispered, slightly afraid. She was trembling but partially from the cold in the air.

"I'm not sure but let's not stay around to find out. You're shivering anyways," The rat replied, taking off his light jacket that he had been wearing and draped it over her shoulders. "Now let's hurry and get back to the house so we can get you in front of the heater and eating nice warm food," Yuki added, grasping her hand again and sped up their walking pace. Whatever was lurking around was probably not a good thing.

Tohru looked behind her briefly and saw the shadow of a woman with golden hair run through the open path to the other side and hide amongst the trees. She stopped and turned and called out, "Kuri-san!" only to hear it echo.

"Hurry, Honda-san. We should be getting back now," Yuki told her, his voice a bit firm but it was only from concern of her safety. Tohru nodded, anxiety winding up in her chest.

What if that was Kuri-san? What if she's in trouble?

**

"Damn it got cold out here," Kuri muttered to herself as she tucked her cloth wrapped hands into the large pocket of her sweatshirt. A cold rush of air blasted against her face and made her eyes water and made her tremble with chills. Suddenly, cold rain started to fall from the sky, soaking the woman in her clothes and made her sneeze. "Aw ####…" she grumbled and lay down, feeling very dizzy. The next thing she saw was a black surrounding… and no noise…

**

"Shigure? Where is Kuri-san?" Tohru asked as soon as Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and herself were settled at the table. The two boys were all ready eating quietly with disinterest and Shigure simply looked up from the cup of tea that he had been sipping and shrugged bemusedly.

"She's probably up in her room doing her laundry or something or other," the dog replied in boredom as he broke apart his chopsticks and started to eat slowly out of his bowl of rice.

"I told her dinner was ready but she just told me she wasn't hungry," Kyo inquired, his voice bland as he put down his empty bowl and rested his head on his hand, a tiredness coming over him. One, from the cold and two, from the rain.

"Kyo?" Tohru asked, tilting her head to the side briefly.

"It's rainin', that's all," he replied weakly and got up and started to slowly head up the stairs. "I'm goin' to sleep," the cat called over his shoulder at the top of the stairs and slumped down the hall, hearing complete silence emitting from the room that Kuri was staying in. "Kuri," he said, knocking on the door again. There was no response. Feeling annoyed that she was ignoring him, her opened the door to bite her head off but saw that she was not in the room. His eyebrows fixed together as his cobalt amber eyes widened and he staggered weakly to the top of the stairs. "You guys! She's not there!" he called down to the three who were still situated at the table.

Shigure set down his bowl briefly, his blue gray eyes looking concerned. Yuki stood up and opened the door, shutting it again when a cold breeze mixed with icy rain pelted him.

"Oh no! What if she's lost out there or she got sick!" Tohru exclaimed, leaping up to get her shoes on and her coat. "We have to find her!" she added, getting ready to go out the door but she saw Shigure hurry out there ahead of them.

"Shigure, wait!" Yuki called as he got his own shoes on and saw his elder cousin disappear from sight down the path that led into the forest. Tohru sat there a moment, calculating Shigure's exit. After a short silence and while the Prince was getting his jacket on, and while Kyo was having a fit getting himself dressed in his jacket and shoes, Tohru had to know something.

"Yuki? What is going on between Kuri-san and Shigure-san?" she asked softly, watching the rat carefully. Yuki eyed her and shook his head, knowing that this issue probably couldn't be avoided anymore if Kuri was to be staying with them for a period of time. He took a deep breath and helped her to her feet and began to talk slowly.

"As you know, Kuri-san and Shigure were always close…" Yuki began and looked for the words to explain the situation. "Well, Kuri fell in love with him and I suppose he loved her as well… but… he was afraid… That's at least was Hatori told me…" Yuki explained. "That's really all I know on the subject. I'm sorry, Honda-san," he apologized, opening the door.

"Oh no, that's all right, Yuki. Are you all right to come, Kyo? You don't have to," Tohru offered, seeing the boy looking flimsy as he got up to go outside in the sleet and the cold with them to find Kuri. Tohru offered him her hand and her other grasped Yuki's so they wouldn't be separated.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Kyo grumbled and took her hand as the three of them rushed out quickly to go and find Kuri.

**

Kuri… Shigure thought in devastation as he ran through the forest, looking for the beautiful woman who had professed her love to him all those long and lonely years ago. He felt raw pain dig into his chest as he continued his search, his heart broken still and his guilt immense. I will find you…

**

"Where is she?" Yuki shouted through the cold, panic finding its way up his spine.

"There!" Kyo managed to hoarse out as he pointed with a shaking arm towards a golden retriever that was laying sprawled heap on the ground, buried in a heap of clothes. Tohru's eyes widened.

"She's… she's a dog too?" She asked in wonder and worry. "Oh no! That must mean she's sick if she's transformed!" She cried and helped to put her in Yuki's arms.

"Honda-san, wrap her up with her discarded clothes," Yuki told her quickly. As Tohru placed the clothes around Kuri's canine zodiac body, Yuki met her eyes and cleared his throat, ducking his face away from the cold and biting wind that was delivering sleet viciously.

"Go back to the house and call Hatori. Take Kyo with you," He told her in a rush. "I need to go and find Shigure!" he added over his shoulder as he ran as fast as he could, carrying a seventy-pound dog.

Tohru grasped Kyo's hand, minding his bead bracelet and pulled him along as fast as he could go. He was so tired and weak. He was panting from the slow jog that they were doing. "Tohru, just leave me here…" Kyo mumbled but the high school girl shook her head, hugging him. A cloud of smoke enveloped him and he was now a small orange housecat. Tohru picked up his clothes and bundled them, rushing through the storm.

"I need to do what Yuki said and call Hatori!" she exclaimed, holding the now transformed Kyo to her body as she ran through the muck and the icy grass to the house, running inside quickly, taking off her wet jacket, shoes and socks. She turned up the heat higher as her teeth chattered and placed Kyo down, under his clothes carefully as she went quickly for the phone, dialing his number at the Sohma house.

The line rang a twice before the doctor's deep, stoic baritone voice came over the line. "This is Sohma Hatori."

"Hatori-san! Please! We need you here at Shigure's house! Kuri-san transformed because she was out in the storm and the cold and she was unconscious and Shigure went out to find her and-"

"Tohru, slow down," the doctor for the Sohma family said calmly. "Who was out in the cold and unconscious?"

"Sohma Kuri-san," Tohru repeated, her voice shaking.

There was a beat of silence before Hatori replied in a fast, slightly anxious tone that Tohru had never heard him use before. "I'll be right over," and the line went dead. Tohru closed her eyes and muttered a prayer for Kuri-san, hoping she was all right. She looked over to see Kyo, still in his transformed state, sleeping soundly.

**

"Yuki!" Shigure called, seeing his younger cousin across the way in the forest, his voice hoarse from being out in the cold. He pulled his coat and kimono closer to himself as he rushed over to see with relief that he was holding a transformed Kuri.

"She's really bad…" Yuki whispered, his voice hoarse. "Tohru went to call Hatori. He should be on his way here right now as we speak," the rat added as they jogged back to the house.

"We have to get her warm," Shigure told Yuki as they approached the house, just as a car pulled near the house. Hatori went inside, not even noticing the approaching two and closed the door. Shigure pulled the door open swiftly, letting Yuki get by him as he slammed it shut, catching his breath.

Hatori turned around and his one visible sea green eye widen with slight concern. "Put out some blankets and lay her down," He instructed, looking to Tohru who then nodded, rushing to the back closet to go get some. The MD looked up to meet Shigure's worried eyes that sought an answer and Hatori shook his head, signaling that he wasn't sure.

Yuki watched this, his stomach wound in anxiety as he watched the two adults as they worked. Tohru returned and laid the heavy comforters down on the ground and Yuki laid the golden retriever that was Kuri down. Hatori then proceeded with grabbing the extra blanket that Tohru had brought and placed her under it.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" Yuki asked, his voice quiet as he looked at Shigure briefly to see his anxious and worried expression that normally wasn't on his solemn or goofy visage. Tohru nodded and included herself in that question because she was worried for Kuri as well.

"No, you all can just go on up to bed. Shigure, that means you too," Hatori said sternly, looking across to his very close friend. The dog's eyes widened and his face washed in disbelief.

"But why?" He asked, his voice stark and raw with worry.

"Because I know you've all ready been under a lot of stress just from her being here. Now, go," the doctor finished, his smooth deep voice sounding thoroughly convincing. Shigure sighed and reluctantly got up and went upstairs to his bedroom and closed the door behind him. Tohru and Yuki slowly walked up the stairs also, Yuki avoiding his room because it was the room that Kuri was supposed to be staying in but he looked inside anyways and gasped.

"Yuki?" Tohru asked softly, peering in through the crack in the door and she also gasped, covering her mouth in shock. "Oh…" was all she could get out from the sight of the broken porcelain laying in a pool of dried blood. "I need to clean that up!" she exclaimed and was about to go to get a rag when Yuki stopped her.

"No," he told her, pulling her out of the doorway and back into the hall. "Don't go in there. Not now at least," he finished and walked her down the corridor.

**

"I see coming here was strenuous for you also, Kuri," Hatori mumbled, seeing her bloodied paws that had scabbed over. He sighed, checking her pulse again, not hearing anything. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath a moment before he reopened them. He then opened one closed lid of Kuri's eye and shined a small light into them. "You're still alive, that's good news at least, but just what on earth were you doing running around in the cold like that when you're very prone to horrible pneumonia?" He muttered and covered her up again, resting his back against the table, closing his eyes for a bit of a nap. He hadn't slept much the last couple of days because Akito had come down with the flu again and needed his constant medical attention for hours at a time. Now was as good a time as any to get some shut eye, even if it was only a little bit.

**

Yuki was sleeping soundly in the hall, adjacent to Kyo even though Tohru had offered that the boys sleep in her room. Being proper boys and not wanting to share a room with each other, they both declined. The boys were sound asleep but Tohru on the other hand was wide-awake.

I wonder how Kuri-san is doing? I can't sleep anyways; she thought and slipped out of room as quietly as she could and down the stairs to see Hatori sound asleep against the low table. She quickly went and got him a blanket, getting herself one also because of the chill in the air. She heard sleet and rain against the side of the house and knew that the storm had probably gotten worse. She draped the blanket over the sleeping MD but he woke up the second it made contact with his body. Tohru's eyes got wide and she bowed, holding her own blanket closer to her body.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I woke you up!" she cried quietly so she wouldn't disturb the other sleeping members of the house. Hatori shook his head and regarded her with his one visible sea green eye.

"It's quite all right. I needed to get up anyways to check on Kuri," he replied, his voice sounding emotionless, like it always did. The MD sat up straight and looked the golden retriever over, checked her miniscule pulse and then wrapped her back up again. Tohru looked Kuri over and her eyes fixated in confusion.

"Why hasn't she changed back yet?" The high school girl asked.

"This isn't the first time this has happened to her. Whenever Kuri undergoes a great deal of stress, mixed with a bit of sickness; since her immune system is so intolerant of most sicknesses, it develops into a serious case of pneumonia and she sleeps for a few days or so," Hatori told her, his voice sounding methodical as he pulled the blanket up closer to his body. "Just coming here was a stressful event for her in and on itself, just as it was for Shigure," he added, closing his eyes briefly, before he opened them again.

"Hatori-san… Um… What exactly happened between Shigure-san and Kuri-san? Yuki told me what he knew but it wasn't much… I just… Shigure looked so tortured when he ran out to look for Kuri-san… I… I don't understand," Tohru said, sitting down on the floor next to the doctor who's zodiac curse was a seahorse.

"What do you want to hear? The obvious truth or the whole story?" Hatori asked, clearing his throat. He didn't need her reply. He knew that she wanted the whole story. "For as long as I can remember, Shigure and Kuri had been extremely close. Ayame always crooned to Shigure when the three of us were alone that she had eyes for him and that he should act upon it. Shigure would always laugh about it and tell the snake that he must have been joking, but in truth, I knew why he was always so hesitant. He was afraid that he might hurt her in the future and he did not want to get close to her just to hurt her. As it so happened, Shigure was deeply in love with Kuri also," Hatori said, relaxing a little bit more but his posture was still very proper and good.

"So… If they loved each other, what happened?" Tohru asked, her voice genuinely curious.

"The more time that Shigure and Kuri spent together, the more Akito found out about their blossoming love. He hated it. He despised it. You know what I am talking about," He explained further more, his eye clouding briefly with memory but it faded.

"I would always hear him say he would destroy their blooming relationship before it ever became surfaced and found out upon, but like usual, he was left in the dark as we know it. I encouraged Kuri to confess to Shigure her feelings to Shigure, even though I had graduated with my doctor's degree a year early and started to see Kanna, and to keep it secret. I told Akito that Kanna and I wished to be married and he flew into a rage, smashing my eye and blaming her for my pain… I lost her that day and had to erased her memories. I wanted Kuri and Shigure to avoid such obvious pain and the ruining of their love lives as they knew it, but Akito would not have it…"

~

"Akito… May I… ask your permission to marry Kuri?" Shigure asked, his eyes somewhat anxious as he looked over to Hatori who was looking equally anxious as well. The leader of the family stood up and approached the dog, looking down upon him with no emotion in his visage.

"What?" he asked, his oboe-sounding voice holding no question but threat. Shigure's eyes widened and he feared that Akito would smash his eye like he had done to Hatori when he asked to marry Kanna.

Shigure swallowed and backed up a bit, his eyes focusing on the young man who was the head of the family when he heard maniacal laughter erupt from the frail body before him.

"You fear me Shigure… You fear that I will harm Kuri and that the same thing that happened to Hatori and his `love,'" he spat the word like it was a disease upon his tongue, "will happen to you and your bitch… Well," he whispered, pulling Shigure's tie and bending close to his ear. "I will see to it…" He threw him back and smiled cruelly, going back to his seat on the elevated ground. Hatori stood motionless, his face shocked and fearful. He started to laugh angrily and cruelly at the dog's obvious pain.

Shigure was speechless, his face frightened like a little child who has seen a loved one killed. His breath had grown shallow as he felt his chest grow heavy inside. He swallowed and gazed at a fixed spot on the ground, unable to look up at Akito for he only felt pain and weakness at this time.

"Shigure… Look at me," The young man with pale, sickly skin snapped, watching as the dog's eyes came up reluctantly. "You touch her and I will make sure the two of you live hell for the rest of your lives. I will not have it!" He roared, picking up a glass of water and threw it on the ground next to Shigure, the shattering glass sliced across the dog's hand. "Now get out of my sight!"

Shigure wandered off, not quite stable on his feet and Hatori stepped forward to follow him but Akito stopped him. "Where do you think you're going, Hatori?" he asked, his sickly tenor voice sounding mischievous.

Hatori did not answer but he looked at the head of family, waiting for him to say something.

"You wish to erase your friend's memories, don't you? The both of those dogs…" Akito mused, mostly to himself. He sighed and shifted in his large chair, his large kimono sliding off of his frail shoulders. "No… I rather like seeing their anguish. It is their fault for getting themselves into this," the young man who was the head of the Sohma family told the MD in a harsh voice and dismissed him.

~

"I had to clean out Shigure's hand and help to console him for he was ridden to tears for hours… just like I had been… Then, he blamed himself and he still blames himself… just as I do… That is the nature of our curse… We will never be able to love or be loved without it coming at a price we cannot afford to pay… I just hope you realize this before you get to close to two certain boys," Hatori finished, his voice somewhat heavy after he had told the story.

Tohru didn't understand the last thing he had said because she had started to cry. Hatori pulled a handkerchief out of his button up shirt pocket and handed it to her, watching as she shed tears. "But… it wasn't his fault…" she sniffed and then looked up with teary blue eyes. "It wasn't your fault either…" she added. Hatori let out a small sound of surprise and his eyes widened. He then composed himself and acted as if she had said nothing.

"It surely seems like it sometimes," he told her softly, hearing movement going on upstairs. "Ah, it seems that either someone is very restless or that they are having trouble finding the bathroom," he finished, a wry smirk coming to his lips. Tohru giggled and dried her eyes, apologizing for having to use his handkerchief. He shook his head and folded it, telling her that it was what it was for and went along and checked on Kuri again.

"So… Both Shigure-san and Kuri-san… have had their hearts broken this entire time… just because Akito did not want them to fall in love and be married? What is so wrong with wanting to get married, Hatori-san?" Tohru asked gently.

"I don't know Honda-san, I don't know. What Akito really hates is when something goes on behind his back though. That may be why he disapproved of my feelings for Kanna and of the relationship between Kuri and Shigure," Hatori finished, his voice sounding somewhat labored. His eye flickered with unforgotten feelings and emotions a bit and the high school girl whom he was talking to noticed this.

"Oh Hatori-san! You're exhausted. Please, let me make you some tea and then you should rest," Tohru insisted, tucking his blanket closer to him.

"No, no, that's quite all right-"

"Please," Tohru said with a smile, standing up and then went to the kitchen. Hatori sighed, feeling himself give in and laid his head down on one of the mats that was resting next to the low table. Tohru came back from the kitchen and saw him sleeping.

The Sohma's have been through so much… Poor Hatori and Kuri and Shigure… I feel so sorry for all of those who have been denied the chance to love and be loved… I surely hope that doesn't happen to Kyo or Yuki. They are such wonderful boys and they don't deserve it… None of the Sohmas deserve it, Tohru thought, feeling a bit more at peace as she quietly snuck up the stairs to her room and tried to go to sleep, it was not easy though.

(A/N: End chapter! OOOH! It's long!)