Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Seasons of Sorrow ❯ Winter's Tears of Hope = 'Uneventful' Morning ( Chapter 3 )

DISCLAIMER: As always, Furuba doesn't belong to me, etc., etc.

 

 

Winter's Tears of Hope

— 'Uneventful' Morning —

Edited by: Miya-chan 10-19-05

 

Shigure had been busy downstairs finishing another novel for his beloved editor. `Mii-chan will definitely be happy to see another work of art. But as always, she must learn to appreciate its value. Now, where to hide this? Hmmm…' He then heard a creak from the stairs and glanced over to see Yuki descending from upstairs, apparently in deep thought.

 

As Yuki was finishing up in the kitchen, Shigure called out: “Well, you've finally decided to grace us with your presence, ne? If you'd slept any longer, I'd have mistaken you for Sleeping Beauty, minus the long blonde hair plus rosy red lips…”

 

(BOINK!) “Itai , Yuki-kun, so savage so early in the morning,” Shigure said as he nursed a rather large bump on the head.

 

“It's not early, baka,” Yuki replied while turning to the back door.

 

`Oh, what is bothering our little mouse this morning? Could it be Kyo's teaching session with our beloved flower?' Shigure mused. His eyes suddenly went narrow and pensive. `Time is definitely not on my side anymore. It's almost time to finish what was started years ago. It really is a shame to put them through this, especially Tohru-kun… I do hate to see her hurt…' Shigure sighed and closed his eyes, thinking how best to bring this about. `Akito will be furious to say the least—well, the curse was bound to cost us…'

 

“SSSSEEENNNNNSSSSEEEEEIIIII!!! PLEASE open this door! (BANG, BANG, BANG!) I know you're in there! Come out you coward! Where's my manuscript that was due TWO weeks ago???!!! (BANG, BANG, BANG!) BAKA!!!!!!!!” (BANG, BANG, BANG!)

 

His eyes snapped open, and a wicked grin came to his lips. `Ahh, Mii-chan, right on time!' Shigure suddenly turned mischievous and quickly hid his finished product. He proceeded to the next task of consoling his editor's woes.

 

`Shigure seriously needs a leash, plus training classes,' thought Yuki as he heard the poor editor's threats of seeing blood on the walls or something like that. He finally tied his snow boots on (tying your laces can potentially prove to be a difficult and complicated task—just ask him),opened the back door, and slid it closed behind him quietly. He saw Tohru with a cute look of determination as she tried to mimic Kyo's moves.

 

`He wasn't interfering, just observing.' With that thought in mind, he proceeded to the step outside and sat down gracefully without a sound. He continued to watch them both, mainly Tohru, as she was perfecting a particular stance. He stared contentedly, observing and eating his orange quietly.

 

(A few hours earlier…)

 

“Oh, how my little flower is growing more exquisitely under my care. Surely Tohru-kun will stay on and continue to grace us with her wonderful smells of cooking and enchant us with her beauty…” Shigure exclaimed.

 

“Shut the hell up you baka inu!” Kyo yelled as he knocked Shigure's face into his bowl of rice.

 

“Ano, Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun is still asleep,” Tohru softly let out.

 

Kyo was about to yell out loud how much he could care less if the dirty rat was dead upstairs, but he bit back the thought once he saw Tohru's face. He knew she had been worried as of last night after seeing Yuki drag himself to dinner and barely eat anything while practically dozing off at the table. He was the first to go to sleep, and he still hadn't woken up.

 

Letting out a growl, he sat back down in a huff and just grumbled, “Damn that kuso nezumi.”

 

Shigure had then gotten up to finish his manuscript, and as he was walking out he coughed, “(cough, cough) Whipped (cough, cough).”

 

“NANI????!!!!” Kyo screamed at the top of lungs as he lunged at the inu who safely locked himself in the bathroom.

 

“Now, now Kyo-kun, you must wait patiently for your turn. You're a big boy—you can hold it,” came the muffled reply from the other side of the door.

 

Kyo was about to knock both door and novelist down, but Tohru came to their rescue once more. “Kyo-kun, please don't. If he's not already awake, you'll definitely wake up Yuki-kun,” came Tohru's soft, yet frantic, reply.

 

Kyo was now definitely set on murdering the trapped inu along with the nezumi if he woke up, but, once again, he looked at Tohru's solemn blue eyes. `Yep, I'm whipped,' Kyo silently cursed to himself. He walked off while grinding his teeth and started clearing the table. He went into the kitchen to help Tohru with the dishes, not saying anything anymore. He visibly calmed down once he felt her hand on his arm, and he saw the smile that washed all his troubles away.

 

“Are you ready to start your lessons for the day?” Kyo asked Tohru with no trace of hostility in his voice. He was glad to notice how she beamed and softly blushed around him whenever they were together like this.

 

Another benefit to the arrangement of cleaning dishes with her was that there were a lot less dishes broken lately. The rat always managed to break at least one dish a week whenever he had helped Tohru. Tohru was starting to get nervous every time he walked into the kitchen to help her with anything, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings by stopping him. She had told Kyo as much during their talks together.

 

“Sure, I just need to set aside some breakfast for Yuki-kun for whenever he wakes up,” Tohru said while washing the last cup.

 

`Kuso nezumi.' Drying his hands on a washcloth, Kyo then asked while turning away, “Well, if that's all, I'll get our gear ready, and I'll meet you outside, okay?”

 

“Oh, okay. I'll hurry up!” Tohru exclaimed with a wide smile.

 

Kyo lightly whacked her hands with the dishtowel, and, with a smile, he walked off to get their stuff together and bundle up. Once outside, he started going through his warm-up routine - not an easy task when you're wearing a coat and snow boots, but he managed somehow.

 

Hearing the door slide shut, he saw Tohru ready to go with a smile that would melt the snow around them. She made her way to him in the large clearing at the side of the house. This was their impromptu dojo for practicing, but Tohru couldn't be any happier, despite the weather.

 

(Present time)

 

Kyo set out to continue his lessons with Tohru as usual. She was smart, more than anyone gave her credit for, and was progressing well with her lessons. He knew she'd be great and was relieved that he wasn't doing so bad with teaching her. But, beyond anything else, the greatest perk for him was the fact that he practically had her all to himself for the majority of each day.

 

That said, he realized how close they had become. He did have to be careful though. He didn't want the kuso nezumi to suspect anything, especially Shigure. He would never hear the end of it from that perverted inu.

 

He had worked too hard to keep Tohru to himself, and now he felt like they were both at a crossroads of sorts. It would ruin everything if word leaked out to Akito of his relationship with Tohru, not to mention these feelings he'd been having.

 

He then noticed that she had started to go off her stance again and pointed that out to her. He felt eyes on them and glanced up to notice that from the rat's room a pair of gray-lavender eyes was staring at them. Those eyes didn't even notice that Kyo was looking right back at them—they were in their own little world .

 

`Pathetic rat—can't he just crawl under a hole and stay there? Nothing but a sore in my ass the moment he starts breathing. I bet he's just dying to find a way to be here with Tohru and train her instead of me. Damn fool.'

 

“Kyo-kun, is there something the matter? Maybe I'm doing this all wrong—I'm sorry! I'll try harder,” Tohru said in a panicky voice.

 

Kyo broke from his thoughts and focused once more on the girl of his dreams. `Damn Yuki—he's not even down here, and he still manages to screw up my time with Tohru.' Kyo quickly replied, “Don't be silly, you're doing fine. Continue the exercise—you've practically got this one move down fine.”

 

Tohru beamed at his compliment and blushed lightly. Quickly, she turned her attention back to the task at hand.

 

Kyo glanced back up at the window and noticed that the rat was nowhere in sight. `Good riddance. God, I hope he stays cooped up in his little hole and leaves us alone.'

 

Focusing on Tohru once more, he couldn't believe how over the years he had been seeing her respond more to him. He still couldn't believe that she accepted him, all of him. Despite his shortcomings, and there were many, she still stayed true to him as a great friend. Maybe even more so, he hoped.

 

“Kyo-kun, do you think I'll really be any good at this?” Tohru asked while finishing up her exercise.

 

“Nope,” was the one worded reply from Kyo.

 

“Eh??!! I'm so sorry then for wasting your time! Maybe we should stop right now, and I can let you get on with your day or maybe perhaps…” Tohru exclaimed in full panic mode.

 

“Just stop it! I meant that you'd be better than good. Really,” Kyo said as he tried very hard not to laugh at her making such a scene about one word from him.

 

“You shouldn't be teasing her so,” Yuki mentioned from his seat at the porch.

 

If there were a ceiling for him to cling to, Kyo would have been there…

 

 

Author's Rotting Hole:

 

I am still amazed at how other authors manage to pull off their stories without getting discouraged enough to quit altogether. I don't even know why I even keep going…yes peoples, I've just now hit rock bottom. Why you ask? Because after weeks on the listing, NO REVIEWS, nada, zilch, zero, kaput (is that even spelled right?). Not even a flamer - how depressing! Not even flamers waste their time on my fic…like I said, I've hit rock bottom.

 

I think I'm going to join Shigure's editor in the bloodletting rituals…

 

Despite this rather sad and depressing fact, I'm still moving forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, etc. I believe in my story and will continue to do so to the very end. The fact that people are at least reading it is a comforting thought, though, so I'll be happy with what I can get.

 

As usual, my post remarks are below…I share my thoughts with you, you share them with me through REVIEWS…yes, please review!

 

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(SOS Chapter 3 Post Remarks - 7/27/04)

I would consider this a filler chapter since Yuki isn't really the main character in this one. But you Kyo fans will love the moments here with Shigure and yes, Tohru! Having to describe his bad language in text is rather difficult for someone that isn't used to it. Tips, anyone, on how his manner of speech should be? Well, I hope you like it just the same...Kyo gets quite a bit of coverage here.

 

No real mysteries here except Shigure's monologue. We all know by now that Shigure is scheming of something in the manga (though no real clarification is ever made-yet) so here's my take on this. It's the beginning of what the story will end up being about. So keep an eye out for Shigure's remarks in future chappies!

 

Oh, the bathroom scene...how well I know how Kyo feels like when you want to murder someone, and they locked themselves in the bathroom!

 

Tohru and martial arts...we know she doesn't like violence to resolve anything, but hey, she is a bit more mature now and therefore does realize that at least protecting yourself is important. That and the fact that she won't have to train in the mountains with bears is a plus!

 

No real musical moments in this chapter...like I said, more filler than anything. I hope you like it just the same.

 

Thanks guys for the reading...you are the BEST!

 

Ja Ne!