Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Home ❯ Phase Two ( Chapter 11 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or the characters. If I ever win the lottery, think I can buy Kyo from Natsuki Takaya?

A/N: I haven't dropped off the face of the planet! ::does her best impression of the Hot Springs Lady:: Gomen nasai! GOMEN NASAI! I'm sorry this chapter took... what, three weeks? (Or something like that.) ^_^;; I hope I still have some readers! I was very busy with school and some other things that were going on, so I just didn't have the time to write. I will finish this story, and I'm not going to forget about it... though there may be times like this where the next chapter takes me a while. Probably the next update will take more than a week also. I have one more week and then finals, so I'm gonna be really busy. I am going to try to get back, as soon as possible, to a chapter a week (or even do more than that if I can swing it). Anyway, hope this chapter is worth the wait. ^_^ As always, thanks to everyone who reviewed! 100 reviews, wow! I feel so spiffy! Big thanks to Yuki The Rat for her support, suggestions, and friendship. ^_^

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 11: Phase Two

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"Hana, you won't believe how much stuff we got for the baby," Tohru said as she followed Ayame into her apartment, arms laden with packages.

"Why something so little needs..." Tohru started but trailed off when instead of seeing Hana, she saw Kazuma. "K-Kazuma!" Tohru looked around, "Where's Hana?"

'Tohru's pregnant?' Kazuma thought with surprise as her words and the children's store logos on the packages registered. 'That could explain some things.' He looked Tohru over. Her coat was open and she was wearing a dress cut to disguise it, but he'd seen enough pregnant mothers dropping their children off at the dojo to recognize the signs. Still, she wasn't very round and he mightn't have noticed if he'd not been looking for it.

Did Kyo know? Was the baby Kyo's? Since Kazuma knew Tohru loved Kyo, he couldn't imagine her being with someone else... but then why was Kyo so upset? Usually spending the night with the woman you loved was a good thing, and surely if Kyo knew about the baby (and it was his) he would be happy... wouldn't he? Kazuma looked at Ayame, who was looking at Tohru with concern. Why was she shopping with him? Surely Ayame wasn't... Kazuma remembered Tohru's question.

"Sorry to surprise you like this. Hana had to go and didn't think you'd mind if I waited here. Urgent business in Tokyo, I think it was", Kazuma replied.

Ayame snickered, urgent "business" indeed. Well, it was one way to keep busy.

"Oh..." Tohru said, but was unable to continue. Had Kyo sent Kazuma here? That didn't seem likely. Kazuma wasn't stupid, after her earlier comment he must know she was pregnant. What would he say? What would he tell Kyo? 'If Kazuma tells Kyo, then I won't have to, and I won't have to see the look on his face when... no, don't be cowardly,' she told herself.

"Ah, Kazuma, it's been too long!" Ayame broke the momentary silence. "What brings you here? Lucky-Kyo hasn't gotten himself hurt, has he? That would be quite unfortunate when he's finally earned his name." Ayame said with a wink and laughed at his own joke.

'So it is Kyo's, I shouldn't have doubted,' Kazuma thought as he watched Tohru turn bright red and look at Ayame with surprise. What was the surprise for? Surely she was used to Aya by now.

A mischievous look came over Ayame's face as he added "And tell Kyo not to worry, we didn't get anything that will clash with the baby's orange hair." At that, Tohru looked like she was going to fall over.

Kazuma guided Tohru over to the couch and sat her down. "Are you ok?" he asked. She looked at him and nodded her head, then turned to Ayame.

"H-How did you know?"

"My dear little brother, naturally, came seeking my wisdom and expertise with women... and so I knew the two of you were not involved. I have not told anyone, aside from Kazuma here because I value my manhood, though I do love reminding Gure that I know and he doesn't," Ayame admitted with an evil grin. "Are you upset that I told?"

"No, it's ok Ayame. Kazuma, please don't tell Kyo." Tohru said.

Kazuma saw the uncertainty on her face and guessed at its cause. So Kyo didn't know and Tohru was worried about his reaction. What was his baka son's problem? And for her to be uncertain of the reaction... did Tohru still not know that Kyo loved her?

What's more, if Kyo didn't know then it was unlikely that anyone had told Akito. That would be trouble. "I won't tell Kyo... but you should. And as much as I hate to bring this up, Akito will need to be told also. Keeping something like this from him isn't a good idea. He will find out and only be angrier at the attempt to keep it from him."

Ayame saw the fear in Tohru's eyes and said "Really, Kazuma, that apocalyptic attitude has got to go. Akito is not omniscient, no matter what he may want you to believe."

It was then that Kazuma saw the fear in Tohru's eyes. He immediately felt bad for bringing it up. No matter how much the issue did need to be addressed, it could wait a little bit and be addressed in a more delicate manner. "Don't worry Tohru, no harm will be allowed to come to you, the baby, or Kyo."

"Exactly... now I must be going, Mine is going to wonder if I've been kidnapped! You two have a nice talk, and no more nonsense, Kazuma! See you next weekend, Tohru!" Ayame exclaimed and left with his usual flourish.

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Kazuma sat in silence for a few moments after Ayame's departure. "When is the baby due?" He asked to try and lighten the mood.

Tohru smiled a little, "June."

Good, she looked more relaxed now. He did a quick calculation. It was the beginning of December, so she was about three months pregnant. Three months ago... that was around the last time he'd gone to the mountains with Kyo. He should have known. Kyo had seemed so happy in the mountains and when they'd gotten back the depression started.

Then the thought hit him and Kazuma smiled suddenly. He was going to be a grandfather! 'Though Meiko might not be so happy to be a grandmother, even through marriage,' he thought as he imagined his wife's startled expression. Well, that's what she gets for marrying a man with a (then) nineteen year old son.

"Is Kyo ok?" Tohru asked softly. She wanted to ask if Kyo thought about her, if he missed her, but she couldn't.

'No,' Kazuma thought, but should he tell Tohru that? Not until he had a better idea of what had upset Kyo, for if it was something Tohru had done, even inadvertently, she would never forgive herself to know how upset he was from it.

Kazuma answered her question with one of his own. "Why haven't you told him, Tohru?"

She looked down at her hands where they lay in her lap and decided to be honest with Kazuma. "I-I wanted... then I found a note that said he had to go away for training and would be back in a month. But he never came back, and I don't know why. I don't know how he feels and I don't want to force him, trap him. If I tell him and he doesn't... I don't know if I could take seeing the look on his face."

"Do you love him?"

"With all my heart," Tohru admitted.

'What can I say?' Kazuma asked himself. The baby was Kyo's and she still loved him, which was no explanation of why Kyo was so depressed. It had to be a misunderstanding, it just had to be. "Do you trust me?" he asked of her.

She looked at him curiously. "Yes."

"Then come to the dojo this week. Kyo's... you don't have to tell him if you're not ready, just talk to him."

"Hai," she acquiesced.

"Now," Kazuma said, "what are you going to name my grandchild?"

"Actually, I haven't though of any names for him yet." Tohru said with a tiny blush. She probably should be thinking about it, but somehow it didn't seem right to think of names without Kyo.

"They could tell it's a boy already?"

Tohru blushed a little more. "No, but I feel that it is."

"How about Kazuma, then?" He said with a big smile.

Tohru smiled back at him.

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They had a nice talk during the afternoon. Tohru made dinner and Kazuma couldn't help but think what a perfect nickname "Lucky Kyo" was for his son. Kazuma hoped Kyo would talk to her, for he believed that whatever the misunderstanding was, it would be worked out if they could get over their respective "reasoning" and talk.

Phase two had been simple: talk to Tohru in order to find out why Kyo is so upset. And now, as Kazuma made his way back to the dojo, he still didn't know exactly why, but he had done something to help.

When Kazuma arrived home he stood in the shadows and watched his son work through his evening routine. Kyo should marry Tohru, but was the boy - no, the man - ready to be a husband? Beyond that, was he ready to be a father? As Kazuma looked at Kyo, he knew his son was a man and yet he still saw the little boy who loved riding on his shoulders. Kazuma smiled tenderly at the image that came to mind of Kyo with a little orange-haired boy on his shoulders.

Would his son make a good father? Kazuma hoped he'd done well enough to serve as an example. He thought back to the beginner's classes, filled with small children, that Kyo taught. Kazuma smiled proudly. Yes, his son would make an excellent father.

Kazuma had a twinkle in his eye as he walked up silently behind Kyo and blocked his next kick.

Kyo leapt backwards and shouted "Oi! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Stay focused and I won't be able to," Kazuma replied in the tone reserved for his students.

"Oh, that's it! You're going down, old man!"

They sparred well into the night.

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'Why did I agree to this?' Tohru asked herself as she walked along the quiet street, the butterflies in her stomach fighting like mad for freedom.

She smoothed her coat and looked down at herself for the hundredth time. With her new, bigger coat buttoned, her slightly rounded belly was hidden, wasn't it?

Tohru fingered the soft, peach wool of the coat, an Ayame Sohma original. He'd really outdone himself this time. Ayame'd been coming over every weekend with more maternity clothes for her, and Tohru had a feeling he was really enjoying himself. He said he liked the challenge and he'd never known working with so much fabric at once could be so fulfilling. Tohru secretly thought it would be a fitting side business for him, considering his main line of work.

She looked up to find herself in front of the sign that read "Sohma Dojo" and the butterflies started their fight anew. She'd been here before, but it never failed to impress her with its high wall and large doors. It was like something out of the Meiji Era and probably was that old.

It was early and the doors were still shut for the night. 'I thought it would take longer to get here, maybe I shouldn't have come so early, I don't want to bother him... I'll come back later,' and she started to turn away before stopping herself. 'No, I'm here now, this is it.'

She pushed the small button at the side of the door and a faint buzz sounded from the other side of the wall. Over a minute later as she was wondering if she should buzz again she heard a click and one of the doors began to creak as it was slowly pulled open.

"Master Sohma is on vacation so classes have been cancelled for the week, I'm sorry if you didn't get the notice." Kyo's voice came through the widening gap between the doors.

Tohru's breath caught in her throat at the sound of his voice. When the door was opened and there he was, looking at her as if she might be a figment of his imagination, she saw that he didn't look too well. Had he been having nightmares again?

"Kyo," she breathed, and her heart ached.

I don't know what dojo's in Japan really look like or if Kazuma's is ever pictured in the manga. In my mind the Sohma Dojo looks a lot like the Kamiya dojo in Kenshin. (I probably can't spell "Kamiya".)

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.