Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ NECTAR ❯ Sacrifice ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or it's characters. It belongs to Takaya Nasuki.

Once again, thanks for reading, and I am so sorry that I took so long to update, I will try to do better for now on.

And one more thank you to awintersrose both for your editing and your great advice, and also to Smiling Onigiri for her helpful thoughts and for not trying too hard to set this story straight. (Pun intended)

NECTAR

Chapter Three: Sacrifice

YUKI *

"Good Morning, Yuki," Shigure said quietly as he entered the Hospital, and headed over to check on Haru and Momiji. "How are our two little lovebirds doing?" Shigure asked, as he smiled down upon them. "They really are an adorable couple, aren't they?"

"How long have you known about them?" I asked, feeling a little bit annoyed. I was not surprised that Shigure knew about Haru and Momiji. Shigure had a knack for knowing all of our family's dirty little secrets; I was simply bothered that I myself hadn't known before last night.

"Actually, Aya just told me about it yesterday." Shigure answered, and bent down to retrieve a blanket that had fallen on the floor. He shook it out and placed it over my two sleeping cousins.

"My brother knows?" Now that was annoying, why would my brother know when I didn't?

"Well, apparently Momiji has been going to Aya for relationship advice."

"He went to my brother!" I exclaimed in surprise. I couldn't think of a worse person than my brother when it came to such things.

"Well, yeah. Probably not the wisest choice, but Momiji didn't want you to find out. He trusted Aya not to tell you."

"Why wouldn't he want me to know?" I wondered, a little too loudly. Momiji moaned in his sleep, and kicked the blanket back off, revealing his tiny naked bum to us. Shigure raised his eyebrows and snickered, before gesturing towards the door. I pulled on my jacket and my shoes and followed him outside.

"So, why wouldn't Momiji want me to know?" I asked again the moment that the door shut behind me.

"Jealousy." Shigure stated simply, lighting up a cigarette.

"They thought that I would be jealous? That makes no sense, why in the world would they think something like that? It's insane."

"Not your jealousy, Yuki. Momiji's jealousy. Haru apparently told Momiji that he was still in love with you. I guess Haru never got over your little forbidden romance." Shigure said with a lustful smile, which I found completely aggravating. Of course Shigure had known about the relationship I had once had with Haru, since the damn dog knew about everything. But did he really have to smile at me like that when he mentioned it?

"Anyway, let's go inside, Yuki. It's freezing out here, and I'm famished. We can discuss this over breakfast." Shigure said tossing his cigarette into the snow and starting towards the Akito's house.

"I am not eating breakfast in that house." I told him.

"Now don't be silly, Yuki, it's only breakfast. If you really don't want to stay, we can leave afterward." Shigure grabbed my hand, attempting to coax me along.

"No!" I told him and stood my ground. "I've made my decision, and I won't do it. You're not going to talk me into staying here, with…. with… him. I'd like to go home now if you don't mind."

Shigure stopped walking and for a moment I saw something in his face that I had never expected to see. Was Shigure actually angry with me? Impossible. Shigure didn't get angry; in all the years that I had known him, I couldn't remember a single instance in which Shigure had gotten mad. "Fine then, let me run inside and let Hatori know what you've decided. You can wait for me in the car." Pulling his keys out of his pocket, he threw them at me, hard. They smacked painfully against my chest before dropping to the ground. He really was angry.

*

Miss Honda had made pancakes for breakfast and the four of us sat under the kotatsu eating in silence. Kyo was acting strangely, I noticed. I watched him as he picked at his plate of food. Normally Kyo loved Miss Honda's pancakes; however, today he was acting as if they might be poisoned. Miss Honda was also behaving differently. Like Kyo she wasn't eating, but she had cut up her pancake into neat little chunks and was now in the process of pushing the chunks around on her plate. She was probably worried about Momiji and Haru, I decided, though it didn't explain the stupid cat's behavior. I was also unable to determine exactly what I had done to piss Shigure off.

"So then, Shigure, what's wrong? Are you upset with me for not wanting to stay with Akito?" I had asked him as we drove home.

"Upset? Me?" He countered. Although he was smiling, I could tell it was forced. "Why would I be upset about that?"

"Well, you don't seem yourself." I told him.

"I'm fine." He insisted, and so I simply nodded.

Shigure wasn't fine. Even now, as we sat eating breakfast, his face held an uncharacteristic scowl.

I stood up silently, grabbed my empty plate from the table, and walked it to the kitchen. I rinsed it off in the sink, and turned to find Miss Honda standing behind me with tears in her eyes.

"Will they be alright?" She asked me softly, taking the plate from my hand and sitting it aside. "When Shigure called, he said that they were going to be okay, but I've been so worried and…"

"Momiji and Haru are fine." I assured her, lifting my hand to her cheek to wipe away her tears.

"And Akito?" She wondered, reaching up to take my hand and holding it tightly in hers. "Shigure said that he isn't doing so well."

"No, I suppose that he isn't." I admitted, bristling slightly at the mention of Akito's name.

"Is it true that Akito is calling for you?"

"Yes," I said, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "But don't worry, I already told Shigure that I refused to see him." Inwardly, I debated on how she would take it if I were to kiss her right now. Over the past few months, I thought about kissing her almost constantly, and when she was this close it was almost impossible to keep myself in check. The reason I didn't do it was that I was certain of what would happen if I were to act in such a manner. 'She wouldn't like it. She'd hate it. It would be a mistake.' No, our friendship was too important to me to take the chance of risking it.

"Why won't you see him, Yuki?" She wondered. "If Akito is hurt, if he might die, shouldn't you be there for him? Yuki, if Akito needs you…"

"You too, Miss Honda?" I said dryly, releasing her hand and stepping away. Of course she would see things that way. Unlike me, Miss Honda put the happiness of others before herself. She wasn't a selfish person, like I was. Miss Honda was special; I wasn't even in the same league as she was.

"Yuki, I just think…"

"I don't want to stay at the main house." I informed her. "I've made up my mind, and I'd rather we didn't discuss it any further." I walked from the kitchen, and headed up the stairs to my room. Once inside, I locked the door, slipped out of my clothes and crawled between the sheets. Outside, the morning sky was just starting to come alive, but I was tired from staying up all night; furthermore, I had no intention of dealing with my stupid family anymore today. I lay upon my bed, staring up at my ceiling and allowing my mind to drift. I thought about Miss Honda, and I again found myself wondering what her lips would feel like against mine. However, when I actually fell asleep, my mind took a sharp turn. I ended up dreaming about my first kiss, and about the boy who had given it to me.

*

"Yuki… Yuki, are you awake?" I opened my eyes, and frowned at my fifteen-year-old cousin who had just crawled into bed with me.

"Haru? You shouldn't be here. I told you, it's not a good idea. If Akito catches you…" Before I could finish, Haru had pulled off his T-Shirt, tugged open my robe, and wrapped himself in my arms.

"Shh… be quiet Yuki. You know that Akito doesn't scare me. I've missed you, and I've decided that I'm going to spend the night. So lay back down, okay? I want to watch you sleep." I let out a soft sigh; you couldn't fight Haru when he was like this. I had tried that route the first couple of times that he had pulled this type of stunt, and both times Haru had nearly went black on me. It was simply much safer to just let him have his way, if Haru went black then Akito might hear him, and I didn't even want to imagine how Akito would react to catching Haru inside my room.

"Fine then, goodnight Haru." I sighed, as I closed my eyes, pretending to ignore the feel of his silky skin pressing gently against my own. It was hard to ignore him, impossible in fact, and soon I felt his hands traveling along my chest.

"Haru, go to sleep." I whispered, although a part of me was enjoying this, the part of me that always enjoyed it. I loved the way Haru's fingers felt as they rubbed against my naked skin. At that point in my life, only two people had ever touched me: one had been Akito, whose touch had always brought me immense pain; and the other was Haru, whose touch had always brought me complete delight.

"Can I kiss you, Yuki?" He whispered into my ear.

"No." I answered with an embarrassed smile. This was the second part of Haru's little game. Part one, crawl in bed with your desperate cousin. Part two, beg said cousin for kisses. Part three, get turned down and pout until you finally fall asleep. Part four, leave said cousin wide-awake and wondering why he hadn't done what he really wanted and just said yes.

"Please, Yuki? Just one kiss." Haru begged.

"No, Haru. Now go to sleep, I'm tired."

"If you let me have a kiss, I'll go to sleep, I promise." Haru pleaded. His tongue gently ran along my ear, causing a shiver to course through my soul.

"Haru, we can't." I whispered, loving the feel of his breath in my ear.

"Please, please, please." He whispered huskily, gently nipping at my earlobe.

"Haru," I mumbled and pretended to try to push him away.

"Please, just a little one." He pleaded, and now he was licking me along my neck.

"Okay." I gave in, surprising myself.

"What?" He pulled back and stared at me as if I had lost my mind. The look on his face made me want to laugh, but of course I didn't. He had simply never expected me to give my consent. "Really, Yuki? You'll really let me kiss you?"

I nodded slowly, wondering if I was making a mistake. His arms wrapped around me tightly, bringing us even closer as his lips brushed across my cheek on their way to my mouth. My heart was pounding loudly, and I was worried that he would notice. I had wanted to kiss Haru for a very long time, and it was completely terrifying.

Haru lips grazed over mine tentatively, his eyes wide and staring down at me. "Close your eyes, Yuki." He whispered, and my already speeding heart went immediately into overdrive.

"Why?" I wondered, but did as he had asked.

"Because your eyes are too beautiful, and when you look at me it makes me nervous." He answered, and his mouth closed over mine.

I made Haru nervous; the simple thought of this brought me so much joy. Haru was gorgeous, fearless, and everything that I was not. Whenever I was in his company, it scared me to death. This was not because I was worried Haru would hurt me. I had never feared Haru's black side; in my heart I knew Haru could never cause me pain. What I feared, what actually frightened me, was that I might do something foolish in Haru's presence, something that would make him dislike me. I was very much in love with Haru, and I was terribly afraid that I would lose him. Worst of all, if Haru were to stop visiting me, then I would be left alone inside that room with only Akito for company.

Haru's lips pushed greedily against mine, swallowing my mouth, and I wondered if there was something more that I needed to do. Should I touch him the way he was touching me? His hands felt so amazing on my body, as his fingers played along my stomach and then moved lower to rub against me, to touch that place that I so wanted him to touch. I sighed into his lips and opened my mouth to allow his tongue inside. A moment later, when my body was shuddering against his, he pulled back and looked down at me with his sexiest smile. I moved my hand down his stomach, meaning to touch him the same way that he had touched me, but he grabbed my hand and brought it up to his lips.

"I love you, Yuki," Haru whispered. "I'll never love anyone else."

*

I awoke with tears in my eyes and I searched my empty bed with sleepy hands. It was only a dream. Haru wasn't here. Haru would never again share my bed, because I had made certain of that.

"I'm not your boyfriend, Haru," I had told him a long time ago. "I'm sorry if I've given you the wrong impression, but I like girls."

Those words were neither a lie, nor the complete truth. I did like girls, of that I was sure. With the way that they all made such a fuss about me, what was there not to like? The only thing was, I was also apparently attracted to guys, because I was head over heels in love with my cousin. The problem was that regardless of how I felt about Haru, I also understood that being an openly gay high school student was not an acceptable practice. After finally being allowed to move out of the main house, I was starting a new life. I was at a new school, meeting new people, and what I wanted most of all was to fit in. There was also Akito to be considered. If Akito ever found out that Haru and I were in love I was certain that he'd force me to move back into that house, back to that room. It was completely selfish of me, but to protect myself from Akito's wrath, and assure my high school popularity, I purposely broke Haru's heart. The selfish rat became Prince Yuki, a title I secretly treasured. Soon after that, I met Miss Honda. If I had regrets, it was easy to deny them...until today.

*

End of Chapter Three, read and review, see you in Chapter Four. Which will not take as long as this chapter did, thank you.

YTR