Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ The Rules of Engagement ❯ Part One ( Chapter 1 )

 

Rules of Engagement

Part One

 

Dropping to his knees, Kyou leaned over to grasp the tiny ankle lightly before moving it about three inches away from where it was positioned. Looking up into the awestruck sorrel eyes that stared back at him, Kyou gave an awkward smile before getting back to his feet. "If you keep your stance at shoulder width apart, it makes it easier to move," he explained, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the adoring gaze that peered up at him. 'They're so small...' he thought, moving away so the seven year old boy could continue to follow Shishou's lesson without falling behind from the brief interruption.

 

Taking a few steps away from the kid, Kyou watched as the boy's attention flitted between watching Shishou demonstrate the action he was supposed to imitate--and obviously seeking Kyou's approval for maintaining the stance he'd been shown. Catching the kid's curious gaze, Kyou gave a nod of satisfaction and found himself rewarded with an embarrassed smile that reminded him of Tohru in its innocence. A swell of pride ballooned within Kyou as he broke eye contact with the child, a smile forming on his own face in response. This past month had only cemented his own path within his mind, surprisingly removing most of the doubts and fears he'd had about his choice.

 

"Kyou, come up here and show them how it's done. If you beat me, I'll wash those mats for you tonight."

 

Glancing up at his father with an arched brow of disbelief, he knew he was being set up to be completely humiliated in front of the class of beginning students. "Will I still get paid for cleaning them?" he asked, knowing the answer before even asking the question. Though Shishou had given him permission to resume a full training regimen after the events of the previous spring, something which Kyou had jumped into with a renewed sense of spirit, it wasn't the only reason he'd been spending almost every day at the dojo for the past few months.

 

"I'll even pay you double," Shishou said with a smile, sweeping his arm in front of him to indicate the wide space he'd provided for him in front of the class. "Twice the pay for none of the work, even you can't turn that down, can you?"

 

Shaking his head, Kyou slowly made his way across the dojo floor knowing he wouldn't succeed but willing to give it a chance, if only for the chance to make a few extra yen in the process. "Yeah...keep talking," he growled playfully, willing to put on a show for the kids if that's what Shishou wanted. "Every word you say makes a few more seconds of your life pass, old man. I'd hate to embarrass you in the middle of class."

 

"Lesson one," Shishou announced with a smile, addressing the students that stood absorbing the scene in front of them as Kyou took his stance in the open space left for him.. "Just because someone likes to talk a big game, doesn't mean they are the superior fighter. Being humble and modest are wonderful traits; I highly recommend them. Sadly, this is the one student I've never been able to teach that lesson to."

 

 

"Huge disappointment for you, I know," Kyou responded sarcastically, aiming for Shishou's shoulder with a burst of energy, only to get blocked by his father's forearm. Turning quickly, Kyou recovered and moved to strike lower with his other hand. Again, getting blocked moments before impact.

 

 

"Lesson two, is to know your opponent well," Shishou said with a smile, never taking his attention off Kyou as they moved fluidly together. Each of them blocking the others moves in a way that made the whole thing seemed planned beforehand. "It's much easier to predict and work yourself harder if you can figure out ways to get past an opponent that knows you well. Obviously this particular student still has to work a little harder as I haven't let him connect on anything yet."

 

 

"Goes for you too, Shi--" With an arm across the face, Kyou flew back a short distance before landing on the ground with a sharp impact to his left side. "Argh..." he growled, giving Shishou a sharp glare as he slowly slid back to sit on the mat he'd landed on.

 

 

"Lesson Three, know your opponents weaknesses," Shishou said turning away from Kyou and back to address the classroom of children in front of them. "I know that Kyou is more likely to be the aggressor and forget to defend himself--which is exactly what he did. You just witnessed what happens when someone lets their guard down, don't follow Kyou's lead. With that in mind, we are going to work on defending ourselves. Thank you for your help, Kyou. I believe you have some mats to finish cleaning."

 

 

"Yeah, Yeah...I know," he said, getting to his feet as he watched his father divide the children into pairs. A wry smile gracing his expression, Kyou headed across the floor to grab the final stack of the practice mats in the corner of the room that needed cleaning. Chores like this one were a normal part of his life, always had been. Most kids had grown up having to do the dishes or take out the trash, but Kyou had always had a few chores within the dojo on his list.

 

 

'It feels kinda criminal to get paid for doing this...' Soon after Kyou had discussed his plans with Shishou, he'd been approached about a possible way to help earn a little money to help with the expenses of moving and getting Tohru settled into their new life. He'd refused Shishou at first, but his thoughts quickly changed once Kazuma had laid out everything he'd wanted Kyou to do for him.

 

 

It had been a huge undertaking at the time, but Kyou couldn't have been prouder of the results. The work had been hard and the money well earned, but in the past six months Kyou had almost single-handedly repaired and remodeled the dojo from top to bottom. Naturally, Kazuma had done most of the preparations and helped out when needed and Kyou had had the occasional assistance from Kunimitsu, Haru, Hiro and Kagura on some of the bigger projects, but in the end, he'd done the most of it himself after finishing his daily training or on the weekends.

 

 

Placing the mats on top of the pile he'd formed, Kyou got to work on doing his job. There was only a little over a month before the move and both he and Tohru had been extremely busy planning for their future, which included both of them working longer hours than normal to save even the small amount of money they could accumulate. Spending time with her had gotten harder and harder to come by, mostly since he was not spending as much time around the house as he had before. The majority of their alone time had been spent either at school, or the dojo when she came to visit him on her days off.

 

 

She'd been hesitant to invade the dojo to start, but he'd quickly convinced her that her presence was both welcomed and needed for his own sanity. It wasn't unusual for her to visit while he was working on some of the bigger projects, helping with whatever she could. The two of them had painted the entire dojo together over the course of two weekends, something she'd enjoyed assisting with. She'd forgotten to cover her hair on the first day and she'd left the dojo with a large amount of paint splattered within her hair. For several days after, he found himself picking out flakes of white paint from the length of her dark brown hair as he sat behind her in class, something that always made her giggle.

 

 

Grabbing the hose from the side of the house, Kyou set himself to the daily task of cleaning off the practice mats at the end of the day. The chore was almost second nature to him as well as holding the position as the one task he'd loathed as a child. It took him a long time to learn how to do the job without getting himself soaked in the process, often leaving him cold and miserable when finally finished. Things hadn't changed that much in the months since the curse's release, water still bothered him as did the rain.

 

 

Systematically unfolding each of the mats, Kyou lined them against the outside wall of the dojo as he'd done thousands of times before. Quickly, he gave them an initial dose of water before grabbing a rag from a bucket of soapy water nearby. One by one, he scrubbed them from top to bottom as efficiently as he could, before moving to rinse them off. Just as he'd grabbed the hose again, Kazuma opened the sliding door near where Kyou was working and stepped out of the dojo.

 

 

“Hey,” Kyou mumbled, pulling the hose to the furthest side of the wall where the first mat stood waiting. “That was your last class tonight, wasn't it?”

 

 

“Yes,” Kazuma answered, giving Kyou an indulgent smile as he closed the gap between them. “Tomorrow is the day, isn't it? Do you have everything ready?”

 

 

Biting the corner of his lower lip, Kyou felt the corners of his mouth curl into a smile as he stared at the first mat he needed to rinse. Heat rushed to his cheeks, still not comfortable talking about something so personal with anyone, even Kazuma. His relationship with Tohru hadn't ever had as much privacy to it as he'd liked to have, his family and her friends had meddled in the middle of it since the very beginning and hadn't stopped once in the months following. “Yeah, I have to stop on the way home and pick up the thing I had to order,” he replied, unable to keep the pride from his voice as he walked himself through the plans he'd prepared.

 

 

“I can't tell you enough, how proud of you I am,” Kazuma said, pulling an envelope from within his yukata and handing it to Kyou. Surprised, Kyou just stared at it in shock, not understanding what his father was doing. It was the same envelope Kunimitsu gave him on payday, but that wasn't for nearly another week. “Just consider it my own return gift for Tohru.”

 

 

Sliding the seal away, Kyou opened the envelope to inspect the contents within, a check in the amount of what Kyou earned in about a month written out to both Tohru and him. “Shishou, you didn't have to do this. You've already done enough for both of us, trust me. I can't let you do this.”

 

 

“You don't have a choice; I still have access to your accounts. If you don't put it in yourself, I'll just do it,” Kazuma said with a smile, removing the hose from Kyou's hands and taking over the chore for him. “You should probably get going and run your errand, or the store is going to close before you get there. I think that would ruin everything.”

 

 

Kyou stood there for a moment, a sad smile crossing his face as he watched his father spray down the mats with practiced efficiency. There were many things he would miss in his absence, most of all--the man standing in front of him. “Thanks, Shishou,” he said reverently, meaning it from the bottom of his heart as he moved toward the dojo to change his clothes for the trip home.

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

“A-another one? It's...this is just too much!” Looking around the room, Tohru's cheeks flushed with embarrassment at yet another interruption in class with a delivery for her. Moving to stand, her stomach flipped over nervously as she looked at the bouquet of daisies nestled in the arms of the student delivering them. “Ah...um...Thank you very much!”

 

 

Taking the package from the student, Tohru gave a brief bow before scurrying back to her seat on the opposite side of the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she sought out a pair of familiar eyes, but they weren't looking in her direction. Heart falling a little, she'd hoped that he'd participated in the school-wide fundraiser for the student council by getting her even one of the items they'd offered. `That's really selfish of me to think that now. I told him not to get me anything for White Day since it was more important for us to save our money.'

 

 

Taking her seat in front of Kyou, she tried to bury the frustration she felt, knowing it was the final class of the day and there probably wouldn't be anymore gifts being delivered for the rest of the period. She should be thankful for all of her friends who had showered her with gifts today. “Who's that one from?” Arisa asked, leaning forward in her seat as the teacher attempted to gain control of the class after the interruption.

 

 

“Um...I'm not...I need to look,” Tohru said, pulling the card from the outside of the bouquet to read the not from the sender. Opening up the small paper, the identity of the sender was quickly solved. “It's from Momiji-kun.”

 

 

“Again?” Three voices replied in unison, one sounding slightly irritated compared to the other two.

 

 

“Well, I got balloons from him earlier...and some chocolate before that...and just a small stuffed bunny before that,” Tohru said quietly, feeling her cheeks begin to burn again as she recalled all of the things she'd gotten from her friends that day. “Yuki-kun gave me a couple of balloons earlier, plus I got flowers from the two of you. Really...I didn't need anything...today...”

 

 

Looking down at her desk, she knew that if she'd had to spend Valentine's Day watching Kyou receive gifts from everyone else, but not supposed to give any herself, she'd feel pretty miserable. He hadn't let her get him anything, so she shouldn't be receiving a return gift from him anyway. All she'd been able to do was serve all his favorite foods for dinner that night. `It's too late to change any of it though; we'd already made our decision. He must be hating today though, I know I would.' That was probably why he'd been acting a little distant and irritated the entire day, she'd barely seen him between classes. All she'd wanted was to just spend the day with him, but because they needed every penny they could earn, both of them were supposed to work after school.

 

 

Focusing her attention on Mayuko-sensei's lecture, Tohru tried to dispel her groundless emotions and just be thankful for the things she had received from her friends. `Really, it's not like he didn't want to get me anything...oh! I am the worst!' Frustrated with her lack of discipline, Tohru pivoted slightly in her chair in a way that allowed her access to the face of the student in the seat behind her—as long as she could look over her shoulder.

 

 

The minor scowl that covered Kyou's face disappeared the moment their eyes met, expression softening as he gave her a hint of a smile. Instinctively, Tohru grinned back at him, unable to contain herself as she turned back around to face the front of the class again. There was just something about Kyou that made her insides flutter to life; even after all this time together.

 

 

Class slipped by without much notice by Tohru, the final bell signaling the release of the school day. Leaning over, Tohru gathered her books together and retrieved the flowers from their place beneath her chair as her classmates departed the room. Convinced she had a hold on everything she needed, Tohru stood up to join her friends but immediately noticed that not only was Yuki gone, he'd been working on the fundraiser all day which explained his absence, but Kyou had disappeared too. Eyes widening in shock, Tohru turned to her two friends in surprise.

 

 

“He left like the hounds of hell were after him,” Arisa laughed, placing a hand on Tohru's head affectionately. “Which, he's probably right about. I can't believe he didn't get you a damn thing today! I could string him from a tree!”

 

 

“Oh! It's not Kyou-kun's fault,” Tohru defended, not wanting her friends to get upset with him for something that had been her fault. Chewing on her lower lip, she stared down at the flowers nestled in her arms and tried not to get upset that they hadn't been who she'd wanted to get them from. “I told him not to get me anything; it would just be a waste of our money. We need to save as much as we can and I know how he feels about me. I don't need flowers to tell me that. Really...it's fine... “

 

 

A slim arm wrapped around her shoulders, leading her from the room at a leisurely pace. “I'm sure six hundred yen wouldn't have done any damage to your savings, don't blame yourself,” Saki said softly, her speech inflicting a soothing tone onto the onigiri. “He's just undeserving of your affections. You should punish him; it's what he deserves for being so oblivious to your needs. Tell him you will remain here with us when he leaves.”

 

 

“Eh?” Tohru cried, stunned by the request by her friend. Turning to face Saki, she clutched her books and the flowers tightly to her chest. “That's not...it's not like that, Hana-chan! I think today was difficult for Kyou-kun too. I know I wouldn't like to see him receive gifts from everyone else who cared for him, but not be able to give him any myself.”

 

 

“Well, he sure hightailed it outta there,” Arisa commented, standing next to Tohru's locker as they approached it. Switching her belongings into her left arm, Tohru attempted to open the door of her locker to retrieve her bag. Giving a tug, the extra baggage with her today became too difficult to handle and it all toppled out of her hands and onto the floor.

 

 

“Oh no!” She cried, dropping to her knees to gather up the fallen books and flowers before the students milling around trampled them. “Wait...oh! That belongs to...”

 

 

“You are just the cutest thing ever,” Arisa laughed, stopping a first year from kicking Tohru's Literature textbook with the palm of her hand. Turning to the kid, she turned on a glare that would make anyone on the receiving end of it shake from fear. “Hey, you! Have some class and pick up a girl's books when she drops them!”

 

 

“Oh! No! That's not—you don't have,” Tohru couldn't get the words out before she found the kid holding all of her belongings out to her. Flashing him a patented smile, Tohru scrambled to her feet before taking them from him. “Ah! Thank you!”

 

 

Mumbling an undecipherable comment in response, he moved away from them quickly and down the hall. “I think you scared him, Arisa,” Saki said, taking the books from Tohru's hands and adding them to her own books. Gaze turning to Tohru, a smile formed on the dempa's face as she reached forward and brushed a lock of hair from where it had fallen into Tohru's face. “You are working today, correct? We should get you on your way.”

 

 

The gentle reminder brought her attention back to the present immediately, eyes widening with panic as she thought of all the things she needed to do before even getting to leave school today. “Ah! I still have to get my balloons from Yuki-kun! He said he'd hold them for me in the Student Council room so I could get them after school. I don't want to take them to work with me, but I'll probably have to,” she said frantically, looking over her shoulder at her friends as she reached into her locker to grab her outside shoes. “I don't think I'll have time to stop at home be—ouch!”

 

 

Stunned, Tohru slowly drew her hand from her locker and stared at the cut on the tip of her finger. It wasn't bleeding, but it had caught her by surprise, leaving her curious as to what had caused it. Attention focused back on her locker, the breath caught in her chest as she found a single perfect pink rose resting across the tops of her shoes. Hope swelled within her chest as she reached in to withdraw the flower from the shoes, careful not to prick her fingers on the thorns again. There wasn't anything attached to it, so she removed her shoes and searched the confines of the locker for a sign of who it was from.

 

 

“Pink for Tohru,” Saki said, drawing Tohru's attention away from her locker and back to her friends. As much as she loved her friends, the disappointment still struck her painfully as she turned to them. “I think it fits perfectly.”

 

 

“Oh! You guys didn't have--” Suddenly she noticed Arisa holding a card out to her, her name scrawled across the envelope in a familiar hand. Shocked, she reached forward to take the note, moisture clouding her vision as happiness overcame her. “K...Kyou-kun?”

 

 

“Damn straight, if anything he owes us a return gift for letting him near you,” Arisa said, picking Tohru's shoes off the floor as they both watched Tohru rip into the envelope with gusto. “Either way, we really would have strung him from the trees if he hadn't gotten you a single thing for today. Lucky for him, we didn't even have to threaten him.”

 

 

“When did he...I...he didn't leave at all today, did he? Yuki-kun and his friends weren't selling roses either,” Tohru commented, confusion laced within her voice. Pulling the letter out of the envelope, she unfolded it carefully before devouring the contents of it.

 

 

Tohru,

 

Sorry, I never had any intention of keeping the promise I made about not getting you anything for White Day. When I stopped to pick up your flower, I'd originally planned on getting a Red Rose, since they're supposed to mean `love' and all that stuff. I saw this one though and it just seemed more like you. Like Hanajima used to tell Yuki and I...'Pink for Tohru.' That lesson stuck more than I realized it had.

 

So, I guess the flower is supposed to be...you.

 

Anyway, go take all your stuff to Yuki. No need to drag all that crap to work with you, when he's perfectly capable of taking it all home.

 

Kyou

 

 

“Ah! It's from Kyou-kun! He...” Confused, she whirled around to look for her friends who'd suddenly disappeared. She could see the back of the two of them as they made their way down the hall. “Uo-chan! Hana-chan! Wait!”

 

 

“Get your shoes on and go have fun. We've done our job. We'll want to hear about it all tomorrow,” Arisa said, giving a wave as she held the door open for Saki. Confused, Tohru just stood there and watched as they made their way out of the hall and away from her.

 

 

Once she couldn't see them anymore, Tohru looked at her flower again, the sight of it making her grin like an idiot. `Kyou-kun!' Hugging the letter close to her, she snagged her shoes from their place on the floor and quickly changed into them. Gathering her book bag and the gifts she'd received during the day, except the balloons, she needed to head to the Student Council room to speak with Yuki. Maybe if she asked nicely, he would be willing to take a couple of her things home for her.

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

My Kyou muse has been the most annoying thing lately. He is rebelling at all my attempts at torture, angst and overall making his life miserable by IGNORING it and replacing everything with fluff.

 

He is insisting on a post curse fiction that takes place in the nine months that the manga doesn't really cover, but is before the end of the series.

 

I give up...he's holding his angsty self hostage until I give him Tohru time. I just hope this works...or all my stories and writing are going to be filled with hearts and flowers until he shuts up.

 

This was originally planned to be a `One-Shot' but as I wrote, I realized that the pace I was setting...might be better broken into chunks.

 

I think it will be a fanfic coming in three parts.

 

I have to return to my Kyou torture soon.

 

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

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