Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Home ❯ Miss Honda ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or the characters. They belong to Natsuki Takaya, but maybe if I went to her house and took my dog with me, she'd think my dog was so cute that she'd give me Kyo... or Shigure... or Ayame... or Hatori. Not in exchange, I couldn't give up my dog, but just cos my dog is so cute.

A/N: I actually had this written Saturday night... it's all Viggo's fault that I didn't finish the editing until today, I just had to go see Hidalgo. Yeah that'll work. ^_^ I'm so happy! Sinnamonkat (who writes great fics, btw) noticed the A-Team line in the last chapter! I didn't think anyone would notice, I'm glad I'm not the only one around who likes that show. Also 6 points to shadowcat15 for being the first to know (and tell me) who "Aogiri" is and for getting the Ucchan's reference. I'm also glad I'm not the only one who knows Aogiri. ^_~ Am I a little crazy? Mwhahaha. Anyway... I'll never get this posted if I don't shut up. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, as usual, to Yuki The Rat for her great help, and also to Ry-chan for her help with this chapter and with the last.

Warning: There may be OOC moments (I'm told I'm doing good with the characters, yay!) so if that bothers you, this might not be the story for you. (Hey, this is fiction, it's my world and I can do what I want with it!) Also, if premarital sex and/or unwed pregnancy bother you, this probably isn't the story for you.

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"The Journey Home"

Chapter 9: Miss Honda

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'Aya's so cruel, knowing who the father is and not telling.' Shigure sighed and lit another cigarette, staring out at the dawn. 'I'll have to find out through other means. Maybe a trip to Tokyo is in order.' He smiled to himself, planning ways to embarrass the truth out of Yuki. If that didn't work, the truth could always be gotten out of Kyo. Shigure dismissed that option 'No, I like my head where it is'.

Shigure thought it more likely that Yuki was the father, considering it would take nothing short of an act of God for Kyo to make a move. Although, hadn't Tohru said the 'other one' thought of her as a friend? That certainly wasn't Kyo, unless he had lied. The boy's feelings were as obvious as his hair color. Shigure smiled, except to Tohru.

'What about Tohru's feelings?' He tried to remember how she acted around Yuki, how she acted around Kyo, things she'd done for them... it was obvious she loved them both, but which was love for a friend and which was more? With anyone else there would be a visible difference, but Tohru had so much love for everyone and was so caring that no difference could be seen. 'Or maybe I've never looked hard enough,' he thought.

"Shigure, aren't you coming back to bed?"

"Hai, hai, my love" he said and put out his cigarette before returning to his lover's warmth.

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"Moshi moshi," Hana heard Tohru say as she answered the phone. "Oh, Yuki! .... Yes, I have time today. .... Okay, see you then, bye." Hana frowned. Tohru sounded so happy to hear from Yuki.

When Tohru turned around, Hana smiled and said "So Yuki's coming by?"

"Yes, we're going out for dinner," Tohru said and looked nervous.

'Out for dinner' Hana thought with a tinge of jealousy, wasn't that a date? Why was Yuki taking Tohru on a date? Hana looked at her friend. "Tohru, are you ok?"

"I don't know how to tell him, Hana. What if he gets mad?"

Did that mean.... "Why would he be mad at you, Tohru?"

"Not at me - I better get dressed," she said and headed off to her room.

'Yuki wouldn't be mad at her... he'd be mad at someone else... the father... Yuki's not the father? So it is Orange Top?' Hana thought hopefully.

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When Yuki knocked on the door, Tohru answered and smiled at him, but looked uncomfortable. 'She knows... she has bad news... she hates me....' He started to get nervous, but told himself to calm down. He smiled back at her and said "You look lovely tonight, Miss Honda."

She blushed. "Yuki, you're gonna have to stop calling me that."

"Why?" he asked as they left the apartment and headed down the hall.

Tohru blushed deeper. What should she say? 'Having you call me Miss Honda like we're still in high school is strange when I'm standing next to you pregnant with Kyo's child, wishing I was Mrs. Sohma... having you call me Miss Honda reminds me that I'm not Mrs. Sohma and probably never will be.' No, she couldn't say that!

"I might not always be 'Miss Honda'" she said simply.

Yuki blinked at her... was there something she had to tell him? The thought of Tohru married was one he avoided. Between living so far apart, his school, and her work, he already hardly ever saw her. If she was married, her husband would get most of her free time and might not understand that Yuki was just a friend. What kind of man wanted his wife hanging around other men? Let alone a man that she used to live with, who still had a fan club.

Yuki noticed a strange expression on her face, what was she thinking? He studied her, something about her was different, but what? She still had a slight blush on her cheeks, which was nothing unusual. She was wearing her hair with clips instead of ribbons, but that wasn't unusual either, she'd been wearing it differently since they'd graduated. His gaze traveled down. She was wearing her coat unbuttoned and he could see a purple, flower-print dress underneath... wait, wasn't that one of her mom's old dresses that was big on her?

He stopped walking and touched her shoulder to turn her towards him. "What is it, Yuki? We're almost to the restaurant," she said.

"Tohru," he replied, using her name for the first time, "why won't you always be 'Miss Honda'?"

She smiled softly at him. "Because sometimes things change, Mom said things have to change or you never get anywhere. You'd be stuck, and no matter how scary change is, even though it sometimes hurts, being stuck hurts more. Other people change, and grow, and you're left behind. So sometimes you have to take the leap."

"Did you take a leap, Tohru?" Yuki asked.

"Yes."

"How did it turn out?"

"I'm not sure yet," she answered.

"Are you sorry you leapt?"

"No, and whatever happens, I'll never be sorry," she said and Yuki could see she was telling the truth.

"Thank you," he said.

She looked puzzled. "For what?"

"I... had a decision to make, and you just helped me make it."

They had started walking again when Yuki remembered the dress she was wearing. Before he could ask her about it she said quietly, "Yuki, I lied to you, I'm so sorry."

They stopped walking and she turned to look at him, tears in her eyes. Yuki spied a bench nearby and led her over to it. Sitting down, he said "It's ok, no need to cry. Do you want to tell me?"

"Yes, I should have told you when you asked, but you assumed, and I.... I am in love with someone, and have been for a long time."

Yuki wiped a tear from her cheek. "I don't remember you lying about that..." something nagged at him, "is it someone I know?"

"Hai," she said as she looked at Yuki's beautiful face, searching for some sign that he was hurt or mad. 'Older, he looks even more like Ayame' she thought absently. Her hand fluttered unconsciously to her stomach as her thoughts drifted back to what Yuki's reaction would be.

Yuki noticed her movement and his mind clicked. She wouldn't be 'Miss Honda' forever... the dress... someone he knew... his eyes widened. He stood up abruptly saying "Baka neko! I'll kill him!"

Yuki felt a touch on his elbow and looked down at Tohru. She looked startled, the hand on her stomach protective now. She pulled on his arm and he sat back down.

"I knew what I was doing," she said softly.

"How long have you two been...?" Yuki asked, almost not wanting the answer. Had she been with that stupid cat for years? It made sense, now that he thought about it. Why hadn't he seen it before? The way she used to spend so much time on the roof, her smile that was always a little different for Kyo, how she was willing to risk everything to keep him from being locked up....

She blushed. "O-only once."

'Once? Damn, gotta hand it to that cat. He must have been pretty excited... no, that's bad,' Yuki thought. Where had that come from? He'd been around Ayame too much lately. "Are you ok? Is that idiot taking responsibility?"

"I'm fine and... I haven't told him yet," she admitted.

"Why not?"

"I haven't seen him since...."

'He really is a baka neko,' Yuki thought. Kyo was about as opaque as glass, it was no secret that he wanted Tohru, that he was in love with her. Yuki (and probably everyone else, with the possible exception of Tohru herself) had known it for years. Kyo'd finally gotten up his nerve, was obviously not rejected... and he disappears? It didn't make sense, but now wasn't the time to dwell on the cat's stupidity.

"How long has it been?" Yuki asked.

"Twelve weeks," she answered.

That long? Yuki looked at her for a moment before standing up and holding out his hand. "Come on, let's get to the restaurant, you probably shouldn't be sitting out here in the cold."

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On the way back from dinner, Yuki couldn't stop looking at Tohru. She looked the same, she'd talked about the usual things while they ate, yet she was different. Was she happy about the baby? She would love the child and be a good mother, of that there was no doubt, but did she want to have a child at this point in her life? Was she ok being alone right now? He thought back to her first New Year at Shigure's. No matter what happened, she always smiled and got through it, but that didn't mean she wasn't hurting inside.

Yuki's thoughts drifted to the baby. A child that's a mixture of Kyo and Tohru... it was hard to imagine. Kyo certainly wouldn't have been Yuki's first choice for her (or second or third...), but she loved him (though Yuki couldn't figure out why). There was a time when the very idea of Tohru with Kyo would have been unimaginably painful, when Yuki had imagined silver-haired little girls with bright blue eyes and their mother's kindness, but that was before. 'When did things change?' he wondered. When he'd begun to have feelings for someone else? Or was it before? He didn't know, but it didn't matter.

The stupid cat... what if he didn't marry her? Kyo loved her, but that didn't mean the idiot would do the right thing. Would she be a single mother? Yuki couldn't let that happen. Tohru had always been there for him, he would be there for her, no matter what. When they finally reached the apartment building he took both her hands in his and dropped to one knee.

"Yuki, what are you doing?" She asked, pulling on his hands as a signal to stand up.

"Miss Honda, you shouldn't be alone, if that - if things don't work out, will you marry me?"

Tohru's eyes softened while the tears gathered. "I can't. I'll be fine. Don't you have someone? I couldn't take you away from her." Tohru wiped her tears and tugged on him again.

He stood. "If that cat hurts you, he'll answer to me."

Tohru smiled and reached up to touch Yuki's face, "I know."

He kissed her hand then leaned down to gently kiss her cheek. Tohru's smile brightened, he was still a prince. Before he could pull back she put her hand behind his neck, holding his face close so she could whisper to him "Thank you, Yuki. I'm the luckiest person in the world to have such good friends." She kissed his cheek before letting him go.

It was then that Tohru noticed a cloaked figure watching them from across the street. "Hana?" she questioned. Yuki turned around, his eyes following her gaze.

Hana stood across the street, her cloak billowing though there was no breeze. Her eyes were wide and it looked like she was crying. Hana rarely cried, if ever. What had happened? Tohru started towards her friend, but Yuki stopped her. "I'll go. It's cold, go on up," he said, never taking his eyes from Hana.

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Tohru watched from her living room window as Yuki talked with Hana across the street. Tohru was surprised when Hana suddenly took Yuki's face in her hands and kissed him. Yuki kissed her back and Tohru smiled.

Uhmm... yeah. Another question answered. ^_~

I like the way one author put it, I hope s/he doesn't mind if I quote "if you've come this far you've obviously read, so please review". I will add, though, please be kind since this is my first fan fiction and I'm very sensitive. Bad reviews... "I don't know if I could take that kind of rejection!" (Toy Story... never mind, I'm crazy.) I proofread it myself, which is hard to do, so there's probably still some errors (though I hope not so many that it's hard to read). Please let me know of any glaring errors and I'll fix 'em.