Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Journey Home ❯ Meetings ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or the characters. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, for her) they belong to Natsuki Takaya.

A/N: This chapter went a complete other way than I thought it would. Isn't there some saying 'even the best laid plans...'? Big, huge thanks to Yuki The Rat (aka YTR) for her ideas, inspiration, help, and friendship. ::hugs:: And also thanks to Elf. ::hugs:: The other thanks, comments, and such I'm going to do differently this time:

To everyone asking when Kyo will find out: When I feel it's time, of course! ;-) Don't worry, though! I have a plan for how he will find out and it will be soon, I promise!

blahblahblah:P : I don't see this fic ending any time soon! 100 chapters, though... I think I'd be really tired by then! :-)

frustratedneko: Uhm... I have to address this cos I've thought there could be all sorts of things people wouldn't like about my story, but I must say that yours was a comment that I never expected. Life is full of surprises. I'm not mad or anything, but... why would Kyo being honest and having wounds mean that he isn't a 22-year-old guy with hormones? I love Kyo because he's honest, too, and see no conflict between that and him wanting to make love to Tohru. "Horndog?" I just don't see it. I mean, in three months they've had sex a whole three times (the first of which was instigated by Tohru). I hardly think that, or wanting to be with the woman he loves, makes him a horndog. One of the best descriptions of Kyo that I ever heard/read was "sex in cargo pants"... he's fiery, passionate, expressive... he loves Tohru and the expression of romantic love is sex. And I'm glad you like it... even with the sex. ;-)

CrazyInsaneAnimeFanGirl: ... ::imagines Kyo fainting:: ... LOL!

Maeko: Yes, Kureno and Uo are so cute together in the manga... but I shan't give away what I have planned. ;-) We will see who Kagura is in love with... eventually. ::evil laughter::

Everyone: ::blushes:: Thanks so much for your comments! You all keep me going! :-)

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 14: Meetings

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Kyo awoke feeling warm and rested, but with a strange weight on his stomach. He lifted his head, looked down, and smiled when he saw Tohru's sleeping face. She was lying in a very strange position, using his stomach as a pillow. Kyo wondered at how they'd managed to sleep cuddled all night with no transformations. 'Wait, I didn't go to bed naked... I guess the transformations didn't wake me up,' he realized. He searched around as much as he could without waking Tohru and found his pants, but no shirt.

Kyo looked over at the clock, six thirty-seven A.M., wasn't Tohru usually up by six? She had been when they'd lived at Shigure's, and hadn't she mentioned work in the morning? Kyo smiled to himself, he would wake her in the way he loved to be woken up. Action decided, he eased her head off his stomach and searched some more for his shirt, but to no avail. Well, surely he could run across the hall without it.

When Kyo opened the door of Tohru's room he stopped, surprised to see Yuki exiting the bathroom in nothing but boxers, obviously in his morning dead-walking state. "Oh," Kyo said, drawing Yuki's attention his way.

Seeing Kyo half-naked leaving Tohru's room in the morning brought Yuki fully awake. "Baka neko," he said coolly, "fancy meeting you here."

"Kuso nezumi," Kyo began and smirked, an evil glint in his eye. "Don't you look like something the cat dragged in, enjoying yourself?"

"Quite," Yuki replied, deciding to ignore the cat comment. It wouldn't do to wake the girls with their fighting. "So you two, ah, worked everything out? You're not running scared? I'm shocked. You are going to do the honorable thing, aren't you?"

Kyo could hear the threat in Yuki's voice. The honorable thing.... Twice in as many days he'd been told to marry Tohru, why was everyone being so pushy? And why would he run scared? 'Am I missing something?' he asked himself. "Like you're one to talk, and if you have something to say to me, put some clothes on first," Kyo said in disgust and walked past Yuki to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him as loud as he dared.

When he got back to Tohru's room, Kyo found his shirt under the bed. 'How did it get way under here?' he wondered as he reached for it. When he pulled the shirt out, it didn't come alone. Kyo looked curiously at the stuffed orange cat as he unhooked its tag from his shirt. 'I guess she really does like the cat,' he thought, 'Is this to remind her of me? Has she been sleeping with it?' The thought of Tohru sleeping with a stuffed orange cat as a Kyo-substitute had him grinning, a foreign feeling welling up inside. Was that... happiness?

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In Hana's room, Yuki watched her sleep. 'I'm one to talk?' he thought as he brushed the hair from her face. 'She's so beautiful, is she... she couldn't be...' then he remembered that they hadn't used protection and his eyes widened. 'Am I really as stupid as that cat? Even after I knew that Tohru's pregnant....'

"What's wrong? Your signals are all confused," Hana said sleepily.

'Should I ask her?' he wondered. "Saki, uh, is there anything you need to tell me?"

"Tell you? No, why do you ask?"

"Something Kyo said... could you be pregnant?" Yuki asked, his cheeks turning a little pink.

"No, I've been on the pill for months. Kyo's here?"

Yuki smiled. 'No wonder I love her,' he thought. "Yes, I ran into him in the hall."

"What did he say?" Hana questioned.

"Well... I asked him if he was going to do the honorable and he said 'like you're one to talk'...."

"Hmm..." Hana mused, "Sounds to me like he doesn't know. Don't say anything to him about it, I'll talk to Tohru."

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Even though it made him sick to cook for that damn rat, Kyo decided to make breakfast for all four of them. It was what Tohru would to. Besides, Yuki had probably gone back to sleep and wouldn't be up again until later, so at least they wouldn't have to eat breakfast together. The other's presence in the morning was a torture neither of them had had to endure for years, or wanted to endure again.

Just as Kyo finished cooking, Tohru walked into the kitchen saying "Kyo? Smells good, thank you, but you didn't have to cook, I could have." He noticed that she yawned with the last word and looked at the clock, seven A.M. and she was still yawning?

"You look too tired to cook, and you do it for a living, I wanted to give you a break. Why are you so tired, are you okay?" He walked over and put a hand to her forehead. She felt okay.

"I'm fine. I woke up and... I'm glad you're still here," she said and took his hand.

Kyo rubbed his thumb over her palm and squeezed her hand gently. "I'm not going anywhere. Breakfast will stay warm for a while, hurry and get dressed before that rat wakes up." The pajamas Tohru was wearing weren't immodest or flashy in any way, in fact they were big on her, but still Kyo didn't like the idea of Yuki seeing her in them.

"Yuki's here? He didn't, um, say anything... strange, did he?" she asked with a worried expression. 'Yuki wouldn't just tell him,' Tohru thought, 'but what if he said something thinking Kyo already knew? I want to tell him myself.'

"No more than usual," Kyo laughed softly.

"Okay, I'll go get dressed then," Tohru turned to leave but was stopped when Kyo said "Wait" as he grabbed her shoulder and spun her towards him into a passionate, most welcome kiss.

When he released her lips, Kyo said softly, his voice deeper than usual "I haven't showered yet this morning, either..." and looked her up and down suggestively.

Tohru blushed and began to panic. "B-but Yuki and Hana... I-I mean we couldn't possibly...."

"Sure we could, you think Yuki just sleeps here?" Kyo asked, knowing she would turn the most delicious shade of red. And she did.

"I-I..." Tohru stammered.

"I know she's cute, but don't tease her, Orange Top, it's rude," Hana said as she entered the kitchen, fully dressed in her usual black attire. "Oh, breakfast."

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Yuki made it in time for breakfast and headed straight for the fridge, taking a glass of milk and drinking it down fast, leaving the carton in the sink.

"Oy, rat, did you just drink the last of the milk?" Kyo called from where he was seated at the table next to Tohru and Hana who were talking about some strange girly stuff he didn't understand.

"So what if I did?" Yuki replied and sat down next to Hana.

"I make you breakfast and you drink my milk? You little fucker!"

"Now who's one to talk?" Yuki said nonchalantly.

The boys argued back and forth, the tension in the room mounting to an almost tangible level. The girls chatted away as if there was nothing strange about enjoying breakfast together while their lovers, who hated each other's guts, were becoming mad enough to kill. Finally, when Kyo was about to throw a punch, Hana said harshly "Enough!"

Yuki and Kyo looked at her, frozen. "Both of you go to the store and get more milk. Yuki, you drank the last so you pay for it. Now out!" Hana ordered, her eyes flashing purple.

When the men were gone, Hana said to Tohru "You haven't told him, have you?"

"No," Tohru answered, ashamed.

"Why?"

"I almost did yesterday, but then Kagura showed up and now... I can't find a way to tell him."

"Your waves are unsettled, are you still worried about his reaction?" Hana asked softly.

"No... Yes... I don't know! I... feel like I'm on some strange rollercoaster."

Hana smiled. "Of course you do, you're pregnant. How are you lately, still nauseous?"

"No, I think that part's over. I feel pretty good. I go to the Sanfujinka again this weekend."

"Good. Tell him, though, okay?"

"I will, I know I have to. And it'll be obvious soon enough."

"Tell him before that!" Hana said just as there was a knock at the door. 'That was fast,' she thought, 'and didn't they take a key?' Tohru started to get up, but Hana put a hand on her arm. "Sit, you look tired. I'll let them in."

"Coming!" Hana called and left to get the door.

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Hana opened the door to find not Yuki and Kyo, but two men she didn't recognize. Both were good-looking, one tall and one short, barely taller than she was. The shorter one was dressed all in black, with black hair and dark eyes. He was very sexy in a dangerous, mysterious way. His haircut reminded Hana of Yuki's, which was odd because she'd always thought it was quite unique. The taller man had reddish-brown hair, a penetrating gaze, and was wearing an expensive looking suit with a silk shirt underneath. The fabric was so rich, Hana wanted to touch it. As she looked at the two men, a strange thought came to her. 'The short one looks like Yuki's brother, and the taller one like Kyo's...' then she realized why, 'They must be Sohmas.'

"You are not Tohru Honda," the shorter man said, disgusted.

"Give the man an award," Hana remarked.

"How dare this little bitch talk to me that way? Kureno, I want her disposed of, now!" The shorter man said to the taller one.

Hana looked up at the taller man in surprise. 'Kureno? Kureno Sohma? Uo's Kureno? If that's who he is...' her eyes shifted to the shorter, dark man... 'then he must be Akito. This can't be good.'

"Is Miss Honda here?" Kureno asked politely, seemingly ignoring the shorter man's little outburst.

"Yes, right this way," Hana said and led them to the kitchen where Tohru was just finishing her breakfast. "Tohru, these two gentlemen are here to see you," Hana said and knew for certain that this must be the dreaded head of the Sohma clan when she saw Tohru's eyes widen in shock and fear. There wasn't much that could garner such a reaction from Tohru.

"Good morning, Tohru Honda. I'm here for my property." Akito said with a vicious grin.

Don't blame me, it's not my fault! I was going to make this chapter longer, but YTR said this was the perfect place to end it... so I did. Her advice is always very good, and it does make such a lovely ending. Since I don't have to go to work again until Wednesday (and I don't have any classes), the next chapter should be up pretty soon. Plus, I'm looking forward to writing it. :-)

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 just don't think I can take that kind of rejection!" (Toy Story... never mind, I'm crazy.) Please let me know of any glaring errors that me or my Master have missed and I'll fix 'em. ;-)