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

Hello, and thank you, to all who are still following this story, even though this update took forever. I am so sorry, but I have already started work on the next chapter, so I'll try not to make you wait so long next time.

I want to say thanks to Smiling Onigiri who was kind enough to step in as editor on this chapter, since "Nectar's" normal editor is otherwise pre-occupied. (Lucky girl). She of course did a wonderful job, and turned the chapter around very quickly. Smiling Onigiri, I love you!

NECTAR

Chapter Six: A Very Tangled Web

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KAKERU MANABE *

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP! KAKERU, WAKE UP AND LET ME IN!" Someone... a girl... Kimi, of course it would be Kimi... was pounding on my bedroom window.

"Uggggh!" I groaned drowsily and hid my face beneath my pillow.

"KAKERU, I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE, I JUST SAW YOU MOVE! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF BED AND LET ME IN." Kimi insisted.

"Go away, woman! It's too early, come back later." I begged and peeked one eye out from the pillow towards the window where Kimi stood, her face pressed up against the glass. Catching me looking, she stuck out her tongue.

"Come on Nabe, you asked for my help," She reminded me and waved Yun Yun's phone and a large shopping bag at me. "I'm here for you, now get up and let me in."

Yes, it was true, I had indeed asked for Kimi's help. 'All hail, Kakeru Manabe's biggest mistake.' I shouldn't have, I was already certain. Even sworn to secrecy, Kimi couldn't be trusted. Yun Yun would be furious when he found out that she knew, but hell, what else was I to do? Besides, it really was Yun Yun's own fault. It wasn't like he had left me much choice. Yun Yun was the only person that I talked about personal stuff with and since he had decided to start avoiding me, and I was desperate to talk to someone about that wonderful, perfectly delicious kiss… it would just have to be someone else. And besides, Kimi sort of knew anyway. That was Yun Yun's fault, as well.... It was.... 'Really' it was... okay it went like this....

Yuki had kissed me on Tuesday, and then for the past three days Yun Yun had been amazingly successful in avoiding me completely. Yuki, the boy who never missed a student council meeting and me, the boy who rarely showed up, had suddenly changed places. For example, Wednesday afternoon's "Winter Ball" planning meeting: Kakeru was there, Yun Yun was not. Thursday's weekly "State of Our School" meeting: Kakeru was ten minutes early, Yun Yun skipped the entire thing. Friday morning's "School Beatification" meeting (at friggin 6am!): Kakeru Manabe wide-awake and the first to arrive, Yuki Sohma nowhere to be found.

On top of shirking his Presidential duties in order to keep from having to face me, Yuki didn't answer his cell phone, didn't meet me in the student council room for lunch, and had apparently managed to turn himself invisible. Although I had been searching the school halls hoping to catch site of him, my Yun Yun was nowhere to be found.

Yesterday, because I had started worrying that perhaps Yuki had dropped out of school altogether or worse, committed suicide to avoid the embarrassment of having kissed a boy, I cornered one of those silly fan club girls and inquired about Prince Yuki's whereabouts.

"Lovely Prince Yuki," she had blissfully informed me "is alive, well, and attending his classes."

The annoying halfwit then went on to let me know that Yuki was already in his seat when the other students arrived, that he had brought his lunch for the past three days, and he had been remaining in class with the other 'gifted students' to study during his lunch hour. She didn't know what Yuki did after class because she was only on 'Prince Yuki Patrol' from 7am to 2pm Tuesdays and Thursdays, after that it was another girl's turn. It didn't matter, I had heard enough. It was evident that the little shit-head was going all out to keep from running into me, and do you know what else? Finding this out hurt, it hurt a whole lot. So yesterday I sent him a text message:

Dear Yun Yun:

I know that you have been avoiding me. Yun Yun, this is completely unfair. I didn't do anything to deserve this type of treatment. You are the one that kissed me. HELLO, I WASN'T EVEN AWAKE! YOU STOLE MY FIRST KISS! The least you can do is meet with me and talk this out. Our friendship is very important to me and I hope that it is also important to you. I have detention for one hour after school, but can you please wait for me in the student council room? I will be there at 4pm. I think there's a lot that we need to talk about.

Kakeru

What I didn't know was that Yuki had lost his phone. He had forgotten it in the student council room on Tuesday and Kimi had been the one to pick it up. She had been planning to return it to him when she saw him next, but just like me, Kimi had been unable to track him down.

Kimi was the one who got my message and Kimi was the one who showed up at 4pm in the student council room to meet me. Since she already knew too much, I saw no reason to deny the truth. What I probably shouldn't have admitted, however, was the fact that not only did I enjoy Yun Yun's stolen kiss, I desperately wanted him to steal another. I was craving it, actually. I had a devastating crush on Yuki Sohma, which I had suspected as fact even before the kiss. Now, suddenly, not seeing him everyday, not being able to speak with him, eat lunch with him, hang out with him, the whole thing was agonizing. It was crazy making... and painful... and it really pissed me off.

So to hell with what he thinks!

Yun Yun has no right to get mad, and perhaps telling Kimi was the right thing to do because Kimi was the one who came up with 'the plan'.

"I'll give you Yun Yun's cell phone. You can use it as an excuse for paying a visit to his house." Kimi had schemed. "I have his address."

"Yun Yun gave you his address?" I wondered skeptically. Yuki kept his home life very private, even from us, his friends in the student council. I found it surprising that Yuki would give Kimi such personal information when I myself had to practically beg just to get him to give me his cell phone number.

"Well, no, Yun Yun didn't give it to me exactly, but I do have it." Kimi admitted and when I looked at her curiously, she immediately caved and revealed her source. "It's in the student council records, right there on the computer. Don't worry, Kakeru, I didn't sleep with anyone to get it. We all have access to it."

"I just not sure, Kimi, you know how Yun Yun is about his personal life. Isn't my showing up on his doorstep sort of an invasion of privacy? Won't I look desperate, and I don't know, maybe stalkerish?" I faltered, suddenly unsure of myself. Just how strong was my friendship with Yuki anyway? What kind of friend never invites you to visit their home? Probably the same type of friend that would kiss you while you were sleeping and then run off without an explanation.

"Give me a break, Kakeru. Yun Yun kissed you. Don't you understand what that means?" Kimi asked.

"That he's mentally unstable?" I joked, feeling uncomfortable with the whole conversation.

"No, silly. The most desirable boy in our school has a crush on you, Kakeru Manabe, although I don't know why that would be. You can't just ignore this, you need to act quickly."

"I suppose that makes sense," I agreed. "I just don't know if I have the balls to show up like that."

"Don't worry about it, Kakeru. I have your back. I will walk with you to Yun Yun's house and wait down the street for you while you stake your claim."

"You'll do that?" I questioned.

"Of course I will. It will be my pleasure." Kimi insisted. "This is so cool, Kakeru. It's sort of like I'm your wing man."

"Isn't a wing man the guy that goes out with the ugly friend so that you can have the cute chick?" I had wondered.

"Technically it is, but I don't think Yun Yun has any ugly friends. Oh... perhaps once you and Yun Yun are an item, you can repay me by fixing me up with his cousin." Kimi had bargained.

"Oh, so that's your 'real' plan?" I said, shaking my head. As it always was with Kimi, nothing came without a price. "Which cousin were you thinking of?"

"I don't care. Have you seen Yun Yun's cousins? They're all hotties." Kimi said dreamily.

"I'll see what I can do, just be at my house at around 10am tomorrow, okay?" I told her. "Here, let me write down my address."

"Don't bother." Kimi said, pulling her address book out of her purse and waving it at me. "I already have it."

"Of course you do." I laughed foolishly.

Good to her word, Kimi had arrived. Only problem was that she was 3 hours too damn early!

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HARU *

"Oh... ahh... haaah... yes, perfect... uh hun, just like that, don't stop... oh... OH... UHHHH! MOMIJI!" I groaned loudly, spilling myself between my sweet lover's persuasive lips.

"Did I do it right?" Momiji asked innocently, looking up into my eyes and wiping his lips with the sleeve of his robe.

"You did perfect!" I moaned ecstatically before grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him up so that I could kiss that incredible little mouth. "Are you sure that was really your first time?" I wondered, feeling a tug of warm jealousy at the thought of how close I might have come to losing Momiji to Akito.

"Of course it was." He grinned and kissed the tip of my nose. "And you liked it? Was I better than Yuki?"

"Yuki and I never did that." I informed him, and it was true.

"But I thought that you two..." Momiji wondered and I smiled at him.

"We touched each other and we kissed, but no more than that." I said.

"Really?" Momiji said joyfully, but then immediately frowned. "What about Rin?"

"UGGGH!!! Why are you asking about this?" I complained, although it really didn't bother me as much as I felt it should.

"She was... wasn't she? Rin was... better?" Momiji pouted.

"No, Momiji, Rin was lousy at that. She wasn't quite as... um... what do you say... enthusiastic as you. My little rabbit, you are the best, even in your weakened state. I crown you the king of blowjobs, are you happy now? Will you behave yourself, and stopping asking about foolish things?"

"Never... I will never stop asking foolish questions because I want to know everything about you, Haru. Everything! I am going to be the best lover you've ever had, just you wait." Momiji insisted.

"Really?" I asked wickedly and reached my hands down to cup his perfectly tight bottom through the silk of his robe. "But if you want to be my lover, then that means we will have to actually make love."

"Haru, have you forgotten that I'm still injured?!" Momiji reminded me with a blush and wiggled out of my grasp. "What do you want to do? Kill me? And besides, we've only been officially together for a week. What do you think I am, a slut?"

"Not that." I told him. "Never that. I love you, and I can wait until you're both fully healed and completely ready. However long it takes, but...." Very gently, so not to risk hurting him, I flipped him over on his back. Now I was on top and I pushed open his robe to expose his beautiful, pale skin. "Now that you've made me feel so much better, you must allow me to return the favor. It's okay, if I do this?" I wondered and kissed downward from his silky, smooth chest to his tiny, precious stomach.

"That would be okay, I guess." Momiji mumbled, and even without looking I knew that his face was bright red. 'Are we moving too fast?' I wondered as I took him into my mouth. We'd been lying in bed together, teasing each other into madness, for an entire week. Injured or not, it was only natural that it would come to this.

"Ah... that feels so nice." Momiji whispered agreeably, but then someone knocked and the door slid open. Momiji flew out of my mouth, out of the bed, and right on to the floor.

I sat up, confused, then hurried out of bed to retrieve my lover from the floor.

"Did I come at a bad time?" Yuki asked.

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KAKERU*

"Where did you get all this crap?" I asked as I buttoned up the black silk shirt that Kimi had brought, insisting that I wear, and examined the long black leather jacket that she was holding out for me to slip into.

"A nice boy donated them to me?" She told me with her usual 'I always get my way, so don't even try to fight me' grin.

"What? This shirt belongs to someone else? I hope you washed it first." I said with a grimace. "I don't see why I can't just wear my own clothes."

"Those old things? Really Kakeru, you've seen Yun Yun out of uniform, right? He has very good taste in clothing, and you do remember that his brother's a designer, don't you? You can't just show up looking like a beggar and expect to win the prince's heart." Kimi reminded me as she slipped the coat over my shoulders.

"So what your saying is I dress like a slob?" I protested. "I like my style, it's comfortable."

"Sure, your clothes are fine if you're going to the local arcade to pick up on fifteen year old boys. Kakeru, this is Yuki Sohma we're talking about." Kimi teased, while opening the tube of hair gunk she had brought with her, squeezing some between her fingers, and reaching up to mess with my hair. "But don't worry, I'm an expert at this stuff, by the time I'm done with you, Yun Yun will want to do a lot more then just kiss you. Trust me!"

And the sad thing is that she was once again right. Although getting ready for my visit to Yuki's had taken the whole morning - first Kimi had insisted that I soak for a whole hour in a tub full of aromatic oils, then she gave me a manicure, a pedicure, and, embarrassment of all embarrassments, a facial, followed by the clothes, the fussing with my hair, and last but not least, applying thin coat of gloss, that's right I did say gloss, to my lips - I was forced to admit it was well worth the effort.

"I'm sexy!" I realized in amazement as I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror.

"Of course you are. You've been recreated by Kimi." Kimi bragged and looked at her watch. "In record time, I might add, it's only 10:30."

"That took three and a half hours?" I said in shock as Kimi pushed me out the door.

"And worth every single minute, now let's go get your man."

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YUKI *

"I walked in on Haru and Momiji!" I whispered to myself in shame as I sat alone in Akito's large dining room. I should have known better. They were, after all, a couple now. It was only normal that they might already be intimate.

'At least I knocked.' I tried to assure myself, and that was true. I knocked and then I barged right in to catch Haru in the act. "I'm such an idiot." I mumbled, and laid my head upon the table. "But hell, aren't they both supposed to be recovering? Why are they even doing that? There is no way that Hatori would approve."

"Approve of what?" Kureno asked, and I sat up in my chair in shock.

"Why do you do that? That sneaking up on people stuff?" I asked in annoyance. Since the moment that I had arrived, I had become completely aware of Kureno's presence. It seemed that everywhere I went in the main house, Kureno was about. He kept so quiet, half the time you didn't even know he was there. It was very unnerving.

"What do you mean?" He asked cluelessly and offered me the piece of toast he had just finished buttering.

"No thank you. I can get my own breakfast." I informed him coldly.

"It's what I do." He said quietly and sat the piece of toast on my plate before standing and walking towards the door.

"Kureno," I called after him. He paused, but did not turn towards me. "He'll be okay. Hatori told me, Akito is going to be all right."

Kureno stood for a moment, not moving, and then he nodded his head and silently continued on his way.

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KAKERU *

"Hey you!" I called up to Yun Yun's orange haired cousin who was sitting on the snowy rooftop of the Sohma residence. When he didn't answer or even acknowledge my presence, I shrugged and walked to the front door. I knocked and waited. Then I knocked and waited some more. Perhaps Yuki was still sleeping? The image of Yun Yun curled up warmly in his bed brought a smile to my face. I stepped away from the door and looked up again to the roof. Spotting the ladder off to the side of the house, I headed that way. Climbing the ladder, I carefully made my way across the roof to where Yuki's cousin sat sleeping.

"Hey, you." I repeated, and bent down to nudge him with the heel of my hand. "Hey, Kyo-chan, wake up."

"WHAT?" Kyo-chan's russet eyes flew open and he jumped to his feet. "WHO IN THE HELL ARE YOU?"

"Good morning, Kyo-chan, I'm Student Council Vice President Kakeru Manabe. I came to visit Yuki." And then I had to duck in order to dodge Kyo-chan's fist. Not a big deal to someone who was used to dodging daily punches thrown by an easily incensed Yun Yun.

"DON'T FUCKING CALL ME THAT!" Kyo complained.

"Sure, no problem." I said, bowing quickly in order to both ask for forgiveness and at the same time hide the smirk that I knew was covering my face. "So do you think you could let Yuki know that Kakeru's here?"

"He doesn't live here anymore." Kyo-chan told me, and I looked up in disappointment.

"Yun Yun moved?" I said, and dropped down to sit on the roof. "Well that kind of sucks."

"Tell me about it." Kyo-chan agreed and sat down beside me. "Yuki moved back to the main house on Thursday. It's was that damn dog's fault! Not that I really care or anything, but at least I had someone to smack around when he was here."

"Dog?" I wondered, trying to remember if Yuki had ever mentioned owning a pet. I could have sworn there was some mention of a 'stupid cat,' but I didn't recall Yuki having a dog.

"That asshole Shigure, I mean. He kicked Yuki out." Kyo explained. "It doesn't matter, it's not like I miss Yuki or anything, and I'm moving out soon, too. I'm just waiting for my master to come back from his trip, and the minute he does, I'm out of here."

"I see." I said, feeling somewhat sorry for this pretty but cocky orange haired boy. "So, I don't suppose you could give me directions to this 'main house' where Yuki's staying?"

"I could, but it wouldn't do you any good to go there. Unless you're invited, you won't be allowed inside." Kyo-chan said, and lay back on the roof, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was lying in a pile of snow.

"Well, then, perhaps if you accompanied me..." I asked imploringly.

"And why in the hell would I do that?" Kyo-chan wondered.

"Because you're a nice guy, Kyo-chan," I said and dodged his fist again.

"I said don't call me that! And it wouldn't matter anyway, because I'm not allowed inside the main house myself." Kyo informed me.

"What? Where the hell is Yuki staying at, some kind of prison?" I asked.

"Not a prison, our cousin Akito's house. Although, I suppose for Yuki it's very much like a prison." Kyo said and sat up again. "Damn it's cold."

"Well it is the dead of winter." I agreed. "So, um... about this main house...."

"Give it up, why is it so important for you to see Yuki so bad, anyway?" Kyo-chan wondered.

"I just needed to see him." I said, my face growing warm.

"Are you blushing?" Kyo-chan asked disgustedly. "What are you, in love with him, or something?"

"NO!" I protested, and quickly pulled out Yuki's cell phone. "He left his phone at school, and he might need it... um... in case someone important calls."

"Humph!" Kyo-chan snorted. "Like anyone important is ever gonna call that dumbass."

"Yun Yun's not a..." I started to say, but was interrupted by a male voice calling up from down below.

"Kyo, Tohru and I are back from the market. Tohru's making tea, she thought perhaps you and your little friend would like to come inside and have some." Down on the ground stood a very handsome, dark-haired man. 'Could this one be Shigure? The, what exactly did Yuki call him, perverted bastard?' The dark-haired guy waved up at me and then disappeared into the house.

"I'll tell you what." Kyo said to me calmly, although his eyes were flashing angry yellow and his orange hair was standing on end. "I need to get the hell away from 'HIM', and I'm walking past the main house anyhow since I need to check if my master has gotten home yet. I'll show you where it is, but you'll have to find your own way onto the property." Then Kyo-chan stood up, took a couple of steps to the edge of the roof, and jumped down.

"Really? You'll take me to the main house? That's great. I'm really grateful, Kyo-chan." I called after him. Standing, I briefly considered jumping off the roof too, but then decided I wasn't dressed for such acrobatics and headed for the ladder.

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HARU *

"I'll be back in a little while, Momiji." I whispered, and bent down to place a small kiss on my sleeping boyfriend's forehead, before pulling my robe tightly closed and moving towards the door.

"Haru?" Momiji said as I slid open the door. "Why are you out of bed, where are you going?"

"I'm hungry." I lied, and felt like an ass for doing it. "I'm just going to the kitchen to grab us something."

"You shouldn't." Momiji stated the obvious. "If Kureno catches you, it will only make things worse for us when Akito wakes up. Call Hatori, ask him to bring us snacks, he won't mind."

"Even if Kureno does see me, it isn't going to make things any worse. In fact, I doubt they can get much worse." I said and immediately regretted my words when Momiji's eyes went wide and then quickly filled with tears.

"Haru?" He cried, and I rushed back to his side and took his hands in mine.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I only meant to say don't worry. I'm just going to grab us something to eat and come right back. I know my way around Akito's place pretty well from when I used to sneak in to..." I stopped in mid-sentence, once again having said entirely the wrong thing.

"Visit Yuki," Momiji finished for me and pulled his hands away.

"Don't act like that, Momiji. We both know how dangerous all this jealousy stuff is." I reminded him and pulled the covers up around his shoulders.

"You're right. I'm sorry, Haru." Momiji said, and then he smiled. "Can you bring me some ice cream then, and maybe some cookies?"

"Of course, anything you want." I agreed, kissed him quickly, and went on my way to look for Yuki.

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YUKI *

"I need to see Akito." I reminded myself as I lay on the floor, staring up at the pitch-black ceiling of my bedroom. "Unconscious or not, I can't avoid him much longer. The longer I take, the angrier he'll be when he wakes up and Kureno tells him."

And Kureno would tell him, without a doubt. Kureno's loyalty to Akito was absolute. It simply wouldn't do for me to wait much longer. "I'll bathe first, and then I'll go." I decided and slipped my shirt off over my head. Dropping it to the floor, I stood up and unbuttoned my pants as I headed toward my bathroom. I was about to slip them off when the door slid open and Haru hurried in, closing it behind him.

"Haru? What are you doing here?" I asked him in surprise.

"I was worried about you, Yuki." Haru told me, as he walked forward.

"Worried about me? You shouldn't be. You ought to be concerned about yourself," I told him honestly. "And Momiji, he's who you should be worried about," I added without thinking.

"Yes, but I'm worried about you, too." Haru said with a smile and having made his way to my side, took a hold of my hand. "Why did you move back to the main house, Yuki?"

"Because..." I started, but found myself unable to finish. Why had I moved back, exactly? Was it to protect Haru and Momiji? To escape Tohru? To please Shigure? Or was it something more, did I have my own reasons for coming here?

"You're sacrificing yourself?" Haru asked and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "To keep us safe?"

"I don't know." I admitted. "I just thought it was the right thing to do."

"You should go back home, Yuki, back to Shigure's." Haru told me. "I can deal with Akito. You don't need to get involved in this mess."

"I can't go back." I told him, and pulled my hand away. "I don't live there anymore, Shigure doesn't want me there."

"What?" Haru said in surprise. "Why?"

"Because I kissed Tohru," I whispered, and felt my eyes suddenly fill with tears.

"You what? That's great, you finally..." Haru said excitedly, and then stopped as he caught a look at my face.

"It's not great, Haru. It was stupid. Tohru's with Shigure, she's in love with him. Nothing's great at all." I said, and stared down at my feet, biting my lip and willing my tears to stop.

"Tohru's in love with Shigure? Yuki... I'm so sorry." Haru said quietly, and then put his arms around me and pulled me close. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." I admitted and pressed my face against Haru's warm chest. Sighing softly, I closed my eyes. Haru's arms felt so familiar and I was so very lonely, so very confused. Too much had happened over the last week... losing Tohru, the thing with Kakeru, moving back to this room, back with Akito... it was too much. I didn't know if I could do it. I was afraid, afraid of Akito's hold on me, afraid of this room, afraid of being alone... alone to remember all the things that I had worked so hard to forget, like Haru and....

"Yuki, are you in here?" Kureno called from outside my door before sliding it open. "You have a visitor, Yuki. I took the liberty of letting him in." Kureno said with a knowing smile. I pulled away from Haru, wiping the tears from my eyes, and looked to where Kureno stood with... Kakeru?

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. See you in the next chapter.

YTR