Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Tainted Choices ❯ Back to Normal...it seems... ( Chapter 4 )

Tainted Choices

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or its characters. They belong to Takaya Natsuki.

Chapter 4

 

Back to Normal…it seems…

 

After Hatori had brought Akito back to his chamber. He called Shigure and let him know that Tohru was conscious.

“Oh, Ha-san…our flower has emerged from her fretful slumber. I am so glad! How is she? Does she seem okay?” the Inu chattered excitedly.

Hatori sighed and answered, “Yes, Shigure. She seems to be fine. Shall I expect you and Kyou over here in a while to see her?”

Hatori could hear Shigure dropped the phone in his enthusiasm and was fumbling for the receiver and making quite a racket doing it. He could almost imagine Shigure's tail wagging happily in anticipation of seeing Tohru awake and smiling.

He thought to himself, “What a cute puppy…”

Shigure finally go control of the phone and with eagerness intoned, “Ha-san…we will be right over! Ja ne! ”

And the line went dead. Shigure dropped the receiver onto its cradle and ran up the steps to get Kyou. In the process, he almost ran Kyou down as he was coming down the stairs to see what the all the commotion on the phone had been.

“Hey! Watch where you're going you stupid dog!” Kyou yelled as he pushed Shigure off of him.

“Sorry Kyou. I was just so excited…our flower is finally awake! `Tori says it is okay to go and visit her…”

Kyou shoved past Shigure and ran towards the main house and the woman he loved.

 

“Oh…how cute! I wonder where this came from?” Tohru said, picking up the little carving on the nightstand next to her bed.

She ran her slim finger across the smooth contours of the piece as she turned it around to see it from all angles.

“It's an onigiri with a Neko-san curled around it sleeping…kawaii-desu! Kyou-kun! He must have made this for me! I never knew he was so artistic…amazing!” and she cradled the statuette to her chest.

At that moment Yuki popped his head shyly through the door. “Is it okay if I come in, Honda-san?” he said gently.

“If you call me Tohru-kun you may come in.” Tohru said with an impish grin on her face.

“Oh-sorry Tohru-kun…” “I'm just teasing you Prince Yuki. Come sit next to me and see what Kyou made me!” she said with a giggle.

“As you wish Princess Tohru.” Yuki said as he pulled up a chair with a graceful flourish.

Tohru handed the onigiri-cat carving to him carefully.

Yuki admired the figurine and said, “Wow, this is impressive. Kyou should be proud. It is very cute. Like you, Princess…”

As he handed it back to her his hand paused longer than usual on her creamy skin and his eyes locked with hers. She could see a passion burning deep inside those violet eyes of his and it seemed to draw her in until she found herself kissing the Nezumi lightly on the lips. Then, embarrassed she set the carving down on her lap and covered her face with her hands. All the while blushing furiously.

“Don't hide Tohru-kun…its true you know…”

“What's true Yuki-kun?” Shigure said as he entered the room.

“Hmmm…why is our flower blushing? Have you been a naughty little Nezumi?”

Yuki shot Shigure a glare and Tohru waved her hands around frantically saying, “No…no…I was just showing Yuki the carving Kyou made me and he was saying it was cute…that's all…really.”

Kyou poked his head around the doorframe and said, “Did I hear my name?”

Tohru's eyes widened and she held her hands out towards Kyou and said with animation, “Kyou-kun! Thank you so much for the carving. It is really cute! Did you carve it yourself?”

Kyou's face turned red and he stammered, “Well…y-yeah I did. I'm glad you like it.”

Tohru picked up the onigiri-cat figurine and hugged it to her chest again. “Oh, yes it is one of the best gifts I have ever received! I'll treasure it forever! ” The rest of the day was spent visiting with Tohru. All of the Juniishi save Rin, Kureno and of course, Akito. Tohru was glad Akito didn't come back to see her. She wasn't sure she could hide her terror in front of her friends and she didn't want to worry them anymore than she already was. She kept up a brave face. But inside her head reeled with all of the `what ifs?' She didn't know what she should do. On one hand, she wanted to save her friends and help end the curse. But, on the other hand, she didn't want to quit school and disappoint her mother.

“Oh, what am I going to do? The school doesn't allow pregnant girls to attend. Maybe I can hide it…” she thought.

“But where am I going to find a boy to…” she shook the thought out of her head as she blushed.

 

A few weeks later, Tohru was back at home at Shigure's. The boys had made sure she had recovered fast. And she thought it was really quite comical to see them trying to cook and clean. She was pleasantly surprised that Yuki had even mastered using the toaster without burning the house down and had brought her a breakfast of toast and orange juice everyday. Now she was excited because this was the day that Hatori said she would be able to go back to school. She was up at dawn making sure everyone's uniforms were clean and pressed and that their lunches were packed. She was dressed and sitting at the table drinking a nice mug of tea when Kyou came down to start his morning training.

“Tohru? What are you doing up so early? The sun is barely up…” he said running his hand through his russet hair.

“Well, thought I would make sure all of the uniforms were clean and pressed so everyone looked their best at school. And, umm, I made sure that our lunches were packed…I thought I would make bento so we could have a picnic. Also, I wanted us to have a special breakfast and everything.”

She said, practically tripping over her own tongue in her excitement.

“Well, since you are up so early…do you want to do some stretching exercises with me?” he asked chuckling.

“Sure!” Tohru said and she followed Kyou out into the backyard.

 

The sun shone brightly through the blinds in Yuki's room. He rubbed his eyes wearily and sat slowly up in bed.

“Ugh…morning again…” he thought sleepily and rolled of his futon and shuffled down the hall to the bath. He took a quick shower, foregoing the tub because he didn't have long to get ready for school. He was happy that Tohru would be returning to classes today. He noticed his uniform was pressed neatly and ready to go.

“Tohru…how thoughtful…” he said softly with a smile.

He hurried to get dressed and walked downstairs to the dining room. He smelled the most wonderful scents and as he rounded the corner he saw why. The table was literally covered with all types of breakfast food. There was rice, natto, fish, pickled vegetables, and even American style doughnuts. His mouth hung open at the sight of the feast. Shigure came up behind him and reached around him pushing his chin closed with one finger.

“Really, Yuki…you shouldn't stand there with your mouth hanging open like that…a fly might fly into it…” he said chucking.

Yuki half-heartedly slapped his hand away.

“Whatever, Shigure…” he said as he sat down on a cushion.

“So, Yuki, where is our flower? Is she still languishing in her boudoir?” Shigure joked.

Yuki glared and said, “Well, obviously she has been up for quite a while…Kyou certainly didn't manage this feast…she must be outside or something.” Yuki stood and crossed the room to the sliding shoji panels that led outside and opened them up. When he did he was enraged by what he saw. Tohru was on the ground and Kyou was straddling her and had her pinned.

“What the hell do you think you are doing, Baka Neko?” Yuki growled.

Both Kyou and Tohru stood up quickly and Tohru ran over to Yuki with her eyes filled concern.

“No…Yuki-kun! Kyou was just showing me some of his martial art moves. I am so sorry to worry you!” she said with marked desperation in her voice. Yuki took a step back and then sat down obviously a little embarrassed.

“Oh…well…I am sorry…my fault…misunderstanding…” he mumbled.

Shigure and Kyou both looked at each other in surprise. Yuki had actually apologized. They knew it must have been hard for him to do.

“Did I just hear the calm and collected Yuki admit he made a mistake? It is a miracle!” Shigure teased.

Yuki looked up, a blush still touching his cheeks and said, “Yeah, well, I am trying to change for the better.”

The rest of the day went fairly well. They shared a picnic lunch with Uo and Hana. Then they walked home holding hands just like old days. Tohru came home with a stack of Get Well Soon cards that had been piling up in her locker since she left. Apparently everyone at school had been told she had a case of the mumps. She even got a few from the Prince Yuki Fan Club Girls. Throughout the whole day however Tohru had other things on her mind. Frightening things.