Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Selfish ❯ Aftermath ( Chapter 2 )

Aftermath

 

Chapter 2

 

 

Tohru slowly woke as the sunlight seeped in the window and into her eyes, her thoughts still foggy and confused as consciousness fought against the strange comfort that attempted to lull her back to sleep. She inhaled deeply, hugging the comforter to her chin as she found her senses immersed in the powerful aphrodisiac--the scent of Kyou Sohma surrounded her. She opened her eyes, letting them adjust in the sunlight as she slowly remembered where she was and why she had woken there. 

 

Tucked tightly in his sheets, Tohru reached out to find Kyou but found she was alone in the bed. Sitting up, she looked around the room, but didn't see a sign of him anywhere. Where he'd slept for the night was already cold, not that Tohru was surprised. No matter how early Tohru woke, Kyou was usually already up for the day.

 

Finding her robe hanging from the post of his bed, she slid to her feet and wrapped it around her as heat quickly rose to her cheeks, her actions from the night before suddenly all too clear in her head. She couldn't help be find herself excited to see him again, wanting to spend the rest of the day with him so they could have a day he'd never forget. A day that would give him hope, help him fight and remind him she always wanted to be with him.

 

Although today would break her heart, she wanted every moment until that time to be with him. 'Starting with breakfast!' Smiling to herself, she quickly rushed to get ready for the day, wanting to have food on the table by the time he returned from his morning run. It only took about twenty minutes before she found herself running downstairs to start breakfast for Kyou.

 

Looking around the kitchen, Tohru smiled to herself as she headed over to the refrigerator to look for what she had on hand to cook for him. `Kyou likes eggs for breakfast…' she thought, pulling out a carton as she placed them on the counter. The neko tended to be quite picky about his food, preferring to eat foods that weren't extremely strong tasting. Fish, chicken and bland vegetables topping the list of things that he liked to eat.

 

It didn't take long for her to have a nice breakfast prepared and set out on the table; she'd gotten quite good at handling it all on her own over the past years. But…Tohru glanced at the clock hanging over the door, `Kyou-kun is usually home in time to help set the table.' Biting her lower lip, she tried to not let it bother her but their morning routine together hadn't ever really changed. He should have been home fifteen minutes ago…

 

`Maybe he got up later than usual,' she told herself, watching as the clock ticked off several more minutes without him arriving home. It was nearly seven…Tohru sat down at her spot at the table, realizing this was the first time in her years living here that she'd had no one to eat with. `Kyou-kun should be home in a couple of minutes, I can just wait for him. He has a hard day ahead of him, maybe he just needed to spend a little more time burning off some of the stress and fear…'

 

Gnawing on her lower lip, Tohru glanced at the clock briefly before staring at the breakfast she'd made. `Twenty-five minutes…it's not…really that's not too long. I shouldn't worry so much.' Forcing herself, she picked up the chopsticks in front of her, determined to eat a little before the food got cold.

 

She couldn't even manage to force a single bite past her mouth, just pushed the food around on her plate with shaking hands as she checked the clock every few seconds. The seconds turned into minutes and before she knew it, fifteen more minutes had passed by. `He…he's not coming back…is he mom?' He was nearly forty-five minutes late and Tohru's mind raced through all the things that could have happened to him. She knew well enough what could happen to someone out in the world…

 

She almost laughed, realizing she wanted that to be the case. He'd gotten hurt, that's why he wasn't home yet. He'd sprained an ankle, he'd unexpectedly transformed, gotten lost—anything but what she really feared.

 

The front door opened, making her heart race with hope as she stared at the entryway of the kitchen waiting for him to make his appearance. A figure stopped in the doorway, staring at her in disbelief. Her heart caught in her throat, resting for a heartbeat before shattering into a million pieces.

 

“Honda-san?”

 

“Yuki-kun, you're home!” Tohru leapt to her feet, grabbing the two plates of long cooled food from the table. “Are you hungry? I can make you some breakfast! It will only take a minute. How did Yuki-kun's night go with his friends? Are you ready for the ceremony today? I can't believe--”

 

“Honda-san!”

 

“I can't believe it's already graduation day! I didn't think this day would ever get here!” She said happily, rinsing the plates off in the sink. A hand reached over her, turning the water off as her hand dropped the dishes on each other, too weak to hold anything anymore.

 

He forced her to turn around and look at him, tears already trailing down her cheeks before she even looked up at him. His eyes were cold and angry as he pulled her into an awkward embrace so he didn't transform. “I think I made a mistake, Yuki-kun…” Tohru sobbed, burying her head into his shoulder as the tears fell. “He's not coming back is he?”

 

“Tohru-kun, it's not your mistake…it's that damned baka neko's,” Yuki replied, the use of her given name making her cry even harder. “I don't know what happened, I certainly don't know how his stupid brain works but I do know he loves you. It was his mistake, not yours. Listen…there's something you probably don't know about the Nekozuki …the rest of us don't really talk about it.”

 

“I know,” she sniffed, pushing away from the nezumi to go find herself a tissue. “I've known for a long time. A…Akito made sure I knew…I've been trying to release the curse for almost two years.”

 

“Tohru…” Yuki sighed, sadness weighing his violet eyes as he looked at her.

 

“No,” she said, biting her lip as she looked back at him. “Kureno's been free since he was about fifteen, that's why you all were kept away from him.”

 

“What?”

 

“It's possible, Yuki,” she said, rubbing her eyes as tears swelled within them again. “I couldn't free him in time. Others have freed…Momiji…Hiro…”

 

He didn't respond, just stood there staring at her in disbelief.

 

“I should go get some work done before we have to return to school…” Tohru said, not wanting to break down in front of her friend again.

 

“Hond—Tohru-kun,” Yuki reached out for her arm as she began to walk away. She turned around as tears began to fall again. “There are some strawberries that need to be harvested…would you like to help me? I'm sure he'll make it to graduation…he knows how much it means to you.”

 

“Thank you, I would be happy to help you,” she replied, knowing he was trying to distract her from her heartache. She knew that Kyou wasn't coming to graduation…but was still thankful for the lie.

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

He'd been running all day. He started the day running from Tohru in the early morning hours and ended up at the dojo. Several hours before dawn, Shishou had climbed to the roof of their home to talk to him. He wasn't sure how his `father' had known he was there, but in his years of living with him, Shishou had never invaded his sanctuary before.

 

`Didn't take long for him to figure out what happened…' he thought, bitter betrayal burning through him as he thought about the fact that Shishou had known since the beginning that Tohru was trying to break the curse, that she'd fallen in love with him. `Damn it! He could have told me! None of this would have happened!'

 

He'd taken off running again, wandering around the city until he found himself here…spying at his own graduation. He watched from a tall tree a good distance away, close enough to see, but far enough not to be seen unless someone knew where to look. Watching as an extremely large number of Sohma's had walked in with her, before Yuki walked her hand in hand over to her friends. Hanajima had wrapped her in a tight hug before handing her over to Uotani. As Uotani fretted over Tohru, Hanajima focused her attention on him, lifting a brow as their eyes connected. The slight shock he received he took as a warning. “Fix it or leave…fine!” he growled, climbing down the tree. “It's all Yuki's fault anyway…him and that stupid hat! None of this would have happened!”

 

Feet hitting the ground, Kyou took off toward the woods, his mind unable to accept the things he'd done, the mistakes he'd made in his life. He ran as if his past threatened to catch up with him, not wanting to think about the fact that it already had. He wasn't surprised to discover himself standing in front of Shigure's home.

 

“Fate fucking hates me, doesn't it?” he growled, stomping inside knowing he'd be alone because he'd seen all of his housemates at graduation. He wasn't even sure what he was doing here, but his body moved of it own accord. He stormed up the stairs and past his own bedroom, surprised to find himself slamming into Tohru's room. Looking around her room, he suddenly realized what an idiot he was. A Jyuunishi set sat on her dresser, complete with hand painted cat, the paper flower he'd given her she'd taped to the corner of the mirror…and he was in more of the pictures than anyone else—including her. In fact, there were three photos where he was the only one in them...every other picture had at least another person in them.

 

Even the picture of her mother was now of one of both her parents.

 

“Why?” Kyou growled, turning away from what he hadn't wanted to see. “It shouldn't have been me! It should have been Yuki! That's how it works, right? I want something—he takes it away!”

 

Grabbing the little red hat off its special place on her dresser, he stormed from the room as he rushed down the stairs. “I didn't want to win this…I didn't want to win this...not like this…” He grabbed one of Shigure's lighters from the hall table, suddenly realizing the heat rushing down his face was his own tears. Making his way outside, his hands shaking as he worked, it took him several tries to flick the lighter. Looking at the orange flame, he lit the fabric on fire watching as the hat slowly burned.

 

He wasn't sure what he expected, if burning the proof of one of his mistakes was supposed to make him feel better—he should have grabbed the sheets from his bed and made a nice bonfire. Wiping the tears from his cheeks, he stepped on the fire, putting out the flame and leaving a nice charred memory behind as he walked away from Shigure's house.

 

Still not sure where he headed, he let his feet lead him as slowly found himself on the surrounding property of the Sohma Main House. In the end, he wasn't real surprised to find himself banging on the door of one of the nearby homes. The door flew open as Kyou Sohma looked his cousin in the eyes, tears streaming down his face. “Hatori…please! I can't live like this! Make it go away! Make her go away!”

 

Kyou watched as a bitter sadness entered the doctor's eye as he looked at him. With a sigh, the tatsu looked around for a sign that anyone else was around before letting the neko into his home. Shutting the door behind Kyou, Hatori dug in his pocket for his pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and lighting it. The doctor took a moment to take a long drag from it before answering the neko's request. “You want me to remove your memories of the person you love? I don't take that lightly—especially you doing that to someone like Honda-kun. I'll think about it…if you tell me why. There better be a damned good reason.”

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

He'd felt helpless all day, a feeling he hadn't had in awhile and it brought back reminders of why he hated the emotion. He'd done everything he could to keep Tohru as happy as he could, but he wasn't what she needed or wanted. `Damn him! What is he thinking?' he usually found himself merely annoyed at Kyou when he pulled something stupid. He was damned confused and furious with the neko for leaving her alone for the day without even telling her why he left.

 

“Are you sure you don't want to go to Hanajima-san's?” he asked quietly, knowing he had to leave for the main house soon. She'd be left alone for the evening; he wasn't sure how to tell her that yet.

 

“No, I have plenty of things I've been putting off,” she answered quietly, looking at the ground as they walked. “Laundry…I...I didn't get anything d…done today. I should p…probably look for—look for somewhere to live since—since I am done with school.”

 

“I'm sure Shigure won't want you to go anywhere for quite awhile,” Yuki said, placing a hand on her head as they headed up the walkway.

 

“I…I know…it's just…” Tohru trailed off, staring at an object on the ground.

 

Yuki followed her gaze, moving to pick up the object. He instantly recognized it as the same hat he'd given Tohru as a child. “What the hell is wrong with him?” he growled, inspecting the charred remains. Although it was mostly intact, there was a large hole where the neko had obviously lit the cap on fire.

 

“Why would someone burn my hat?” she asked, tears welling in her eyes for probably the thousandth time that day.

 

Frustrated, Yuki handed the hat to Tohru. “I don't know; why does your beloved Kyou do anything?” Tohru just looked at him in confusion. Yuki dragged a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. It was probably past time he let her know the truth. “The hat originally belonged to Kyou. I imagine he thinks I stole it from him, but I tried to give it back. He just refused to take it because `the rat' touched it. I didn't even want it, but one day I ran away from the main house using some of Haru's clothes and Kyou's hat to `disguise' myself. Your mom was yelling in streets, and I thought I remembered seeing you so I went back to check. I was going to go back to tell someone where you were…since…well…I'd just had a bunch of friends memories erased, but you followed.”

 

He almost laughed at her look of surprise, “I'd transformed because I was so out of breath, that's why I was gone so quick.”

 

“Yuki? It was…but why would?” Tohru smiled for the first time all day. “It was you? All this time?”

 

“Yeah, I just don't understand why Kyou's holding such a grudge over a simple hat,” Yuki sighed, wondering if Ayame would be able to repair the hat at all for her. “Even for him, it doesn't make much sense. I mentioned it once before, that you now had it. He reacted…well it doesn't surprise me that it's in this state.”

 

“I'm so glad it was you,” she said quietly, staring at the ground.

 

“No,” he said, placing his hand back on her head. “Thank you for not forgetting. That day meant a lot to me.”

 

Tohru sighed, looking at the little red cap. “So…at least we know he came back.”

 

“Yes,” Yuki said, as Tohru walked in the door. “Listen…Tohru, I have something I need to go do for a little bit. Are you sure you don't want one of your friends to come over tonight?”

 

She looked a little taken aback, but quickly recovered, shaking her head in the negative. “I really do have a lot of work to do…”

 

“O…Okay,” he said, suddenly feeling a massive weight settle on his shoulders. He couldn't help feeling like he was betraying her, leaving her here like this. “I shouldn't be gone too long. I promise to come back as soon as I can. I just…I can't get out of this.”

 

She nodded, gripping the cap in her hands tightly before quietly turning and heading further into the house. Yuki shut the door, walking away from the house, a dark cloud following him. Though he wasn't particularly fond of the neko, he had acquired a reluctant respect for him in the past couple of years.

 

The idea of getting in a few painful hits or giving him a few broken bones tempted Yuki for whatever had happened between Kyou and Tohru the night before, but that was because Yuki had his suspicions about what had transpired. He didn't want to know the truth, because he would probably kill the neko if he was right. No matter how he personally felt about Kyou, he envied him too much to look down on him like most of the Jyuunishi. He didn't pity the Nekozuki, only believed his fate was cruel and shouldn't happen to anyone. He wouldn't wish for anyone to go through that—worst enemy or not.

 

Staring at the main house in front of him, it was moments like this he hated the curse the most. Akito's orders bringing him to witness something he didn't want to see happen to anyone, no matter how furious he was with the individual. Making his way through the door, Yuki headed down the hall to join the rest of his family.

 

“Yuki! I was beginning to think you weren't going to make it!”

 

Giving Akito a cursory glace, Yuki refocused his attention to his orange haired cousin standing next to Kazuma in the front of the room. It took only a moment for Kyou to turn around and make eye contact. “You know I have no choice,” Yuki commented to Akito before pointedly making his next remark to the neko. “Someone had to make sure Tohru-kun arrived home from graduation safely.”

 

Kyou's eyes narrowed, glaring at him.

 

“Ah yes, Honda Tohru,” Akito smirked, moving to the front of the room. “How is our little family charity case doing?”

 

Eyes still trained on Kyou, Yuki didn't miss the blatant insult at Tohru that Akito tossed out. “She's had a rough day,” he replied, still not directing the comment at Akito. The neko guiltily broke eye contact with the nezumi.

 

Akito lightly grabbed Kyou's face as he walked past him, “Of course she has…she failed.”

 

The neko jerked his head away, glaring at Akito in disgust, hands clenched at his sides as Kazuma stepped between the two. Akito said something to Kyou, though he strained to hear, Yuki was unable to decipher the words.

 

“Don't talk about her like that!” Kyou fought to get to Akito through Kazuma, successfully grabbing hold of his kimono. “You don't know her; just leave her out of this.”

 

Akito laughed as Kazuma forcefully separated the two of them. “Leave her out of it? How can I leave her out when she's the one constantly interfering?” The entire room quieted as they followed the direction in which Akito's raised arm indicated. There, in the doorway stood Tohru Honda. “I suppose you've come to bargain for your monster.”

 

“Don't call him that…” Tohru whispered, her eyes obviously seeking out Kyou.

 

Yuki's hands clenched into fists, watching as Kyou still avoided eye contact with Tohru. `Baka neko, she's here fighting for your life and you still won't look at her?' Disgust and rage boiled in the nezumi's veins, wanting to go across the room and beat some sense into the neko.

 

“Tohru, go home!” Kyou growled; staring at the ground with his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

 

“No! I can't let them do this to you!” She yelled; choking on a sob as Kyou finally looked up at her in surprise. Yuki didn't blame him; he'd never heard her yell before either. “Please, I know there isn't much I can do…but I will do anything. Just give him his freedom, please.”

 

“You want to give me something for such a worthless being?” Akito laughed, looking around the room at the rest of the Jyuunishi. “Don't you understand that they are nothing without me? Of all of them, you bargain for the Nekozuki? Oh, that is just brilliant! The little monster fell in love with the monster.”

 

“Tohru, stay out of this!” Kyou growled, as Tohru dropped to her knees in front of the head of the family. The murmuring of his fellow Jyuunishi showed the surprise at the scene unfolding in front of them.

 

“Actually, there is one thing I want from you,” Akito said, leaning over and grasping Tohru's head in his hands. “I will grant your request for his freedom, on one condition. I want you out of the Sohma family. I want you out of their lives—all of them. I want your memories of all of them—of Yuki, Shigure and even of Kyou. I will give the monster his freedom; he'll never be locked up, if you are willing to do this.”

 

 

I do not own Fruits Basket or the characters affiliated with the Manga and Anime. They are the property of Natsuki Takaya…I am just `borrowing' them for my own nefarious deeds. I own nothing, suing me won't help anyone.

Sari-15